Even in the Darkness
by TheCoolestAirBender
Summary: Minerva McGonagall's life changes, as she apparates to the Middle-earth and meets her saviour Gandalf the Grey. But will he be able to help the witch, before Voldemort's unfinished spell takes over her body and soul? Rating might change in further chapters! (REWRITTEN!)
1. An unexpected meeting

_Disclaimer: I own everything but the plot. Sadly, it's the other way around._

_Warning: I changed some of the events in LotR books._

_"Even in the darkness"_

_Chapter 1_

_An unexpected meeting_

_Authors note: I rewrote this story, because I did not like how it started. ^^_

Gandalf the Grey was walking in a middle of a dark forest. He was going to the Shire, to see if Frodo and Sam had already left for their journey to Rivendell with the ring, because he wrote a letter to them, to change the date of their leaving. They were supposed to meet at the Prancing Pony, but Gandalf was delayed by Saruman, the traitor he once called his friend, but he had to check on them.

It was autumn, the brownish leaves were falling down from trees on the ground, creating a golden path, before the wizard's legs. It was not a cold evening, the sun was still in the sky, and the sunbeams were penetrating through the trees peeks. He was a little bit tired from all of this walking, but the faster he gets to the Bag end, the better.

The silence, in which only birds were heard, was broke by a sudden muffled scream of a woman, ringing not very far away from the man. He, without another thought, ran in the direction of her voice, which now was not to be heard anymore, and reached her in no time.

The wizard found her lying on the ground, laboured breathing telling, that she is still alive. Her dress was all torn; she had deep cuts on her legs and arms, which were all covered in blood. There was a silver knife sticking out of her stomach, which was glowing in bright green light. Woman's midnight black hair was in a bun which was falling freely on the golden ground. Her eyes – closed.

Gandalf did not know, who this woman was, but she seemed somewhat familiar. Even if he didn't know her, there were no reasons for him to leave her to die. He looked around for her attacker, but saw no one and dropped on his knees, checking if she was breathing. After Gandalf ascertained, that she is, he pulled the knife out of her and put it in his bag. He scooped the woman into his arms gently and carried her all the way through the forest.

After half an hour, they reached the Shire and went to Frodo's little house, which he decided not to sell. The wizard was relieved, to see, that the little hobbit was not here. That meant that he has already left for his quest, but his mind was still very dark. Gandalf went inside and he laid the woman down on the bed in guest room next to his and looked at her wounds. They weren't deep, except for the one that the knife left. It was bleeding heavily and he had to take care of it quickly.

The wizard cleaned the cut and then, he applied healing cream on it. It should heal in few days. He took care of her small cuts and all her bruises, covering her one hand in white cloth, because the wound on it was very long. The last thing he had to do was to bandage her waist, because the wound could bleed any time again. Gandalf took off her torn, bloody dress and saw a very strange thing on her chest. There were four red scars that were obviously left from a magic spell, because there were no weapons that could do this. He looked at them for a second, but then continued concentrating on the job he had to finish.

The man bandaged her and pulled off his own grey shirt that he was wearing under his robes. Of course, they were too big for her, but its better, than nothing. The wizard put it on her and laid her more comfortable, covering her with emerald green blanket. He leaned forward, kissed her warm forehead and silently left the room.

* * *

_Minerva appeared in a forest. It was very dark, no light was in it and she couldn't see anything clearly. She didn't hear any birds, or animals. It's like there were none in this here. A soft wind was blowing, gently stirring the branches of green trees and making the leaves rumble silently._

_She started walking slowly, without any sound, as if fearing to disturb this all forest enveloping silence. The woman saw something glowing up ahead and quickened her pace as if wishing to get out of this place, the darkness making her shiver. She turned around slowly, as she heard someone walking on fallen leaves and gasped, as she saw her friend Albus, dressed in a purple cloak, but neither alive, nor dead. His head was a silver skull, without his blue twinkling eyes but his body seemed normal. The wizard whispered her name, lifted his wand slowly and went to her._

_"It's time, Minerva. It's time to join me..." He murmured merrily._

Minerva woke up startled, whispering Albus' name, with shaking voice. Cold sweat was pouring down her white as paper sheet forehead, her breathing quickened and her heart was beating like mad. The witch looked around and saw that she was in a dark small room, which was unrecognisable for her.

The ceiling of the room was brown and very low; there was a soft rug on the wooden floor. All the furniture was smaller, than usual, just like the bed Minerva was laying in, her legs almost sticking out of it. But the most not understandable thing for her was the fact, that there were no windows. The only light in the room was a single candle burning near her bed.

The woman sat up, but only to feel a slight pain near her chest. She looked down and saw that she was wearing a grey, far too big for her shirt. It was apparently her night gown. Or it seemed like it was.

Suddenly, strong pain ripped through Minerva's body, setting it on fire, and she couldn't move. The only thing, that she could do, was to scream. And she did.

* * *

Gandalf sat in the living room, reading maps that Bilbo has left for his nephew Frodo, when suddenly he heard a loud scream, coming from the room, where the woman he found was laying. He jumped from his seat, almost spilling his green tea on the table, grabbed his old staff and ran to see what happened.

When the man came through the door, he saw the woman sitting straight up on the bed, clutching the bed sheets tightly with her arms. She was whispering something, that he could understand but more important thing was that she was glowing in bright green light. And that, Gandalf understood, didn't mean anything good.

In few long strides, he was by her side, holding her in his arms, because that was the best he could think of right then. He didn't know what happened to her, or how to help her.

Minerva let go of the sheets and started sobbing into Gandalf's chest, not even having a one glance at his face. He held her, stroked her dark hair and murmured soothing words into her ear. The man couldn't understand why she was glowing in green, so he searched for answers in his old head.

He remembered the knife's glowing, but Minerva lifted her clear green eyes to his face and his thoughts were pushed away. The glowing was slowly fading and the wizard smiled sadly at her.

"Who are you?" she asked, whipping the remaining tears from her face.

The man looked like he was Albus' brother. His long beard, grey robes and those grayish twinkling blue eyes, just like his. Her heart broke into small peaces once again, like the time she knew that he was dead and won't be with her anymore.

He let go of her and looked into her answers demanding eyes. "I am Gandalf the Grey. One of the five wizards in the middle earth." He smiled politely.

She thought for a moment. "Middle earth?" She questioned with a puzzled expression on her face.

"In a dark forest I found you, as I was on my way to the Shire. I carried you here, healed your wounds and cuts, and left you lying in this bed." The wizard explained.

"Where… am I?" The woman asked quickly.

"Middle earth is the world, where we are now… How the place is called, where you are from?"

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "I am definitely not from Middle earth. I am from Scotland."

"You are from another world?" He said, his face shining with curiosity. "That is very strange…" He said seriously.

"Of course it is! I somehow appeared in a place, which I know nothing about, laying half alive on a bed, with a stranger by my side."

"Well… One of these things can be fixed easily. What is your name, my lady?"

"Minerva…" She said after a minute in thoughts. "Minerva McGonagall… Are you are wizard?"

"That is my job, you can say. And I guess you are too, because I saw the scars on your chest that could not be done by any weapon. And I found this stick in your hand, too." Gandalf picked up something from the table near them and showed it to the woman.

"This is my wand."

"Oh… So that is how you call it!" He chuckled and she looked at him strangely.

"Why is this room so small?" She asked.

"This is a house of a hobbit. Small, but very kindhearted creatures of Middle- earth."

"How do they look like?"

"I will show you someday, if you will stay here."

Minerva looked at him sadly. "I think I have no choice."

"We will find a way for you to get back. Do not worry."

"Thank you, Gandalf." The witch said. "For everything."

"You are very welcome, my dear lady." He smiled. "I only have two questions for you left, before you go to sleep."

"Yes?"

"Does your wound hurt anymore?"

A little smile appeared on her face, from the kindness of the wizard. "A little bit, but I am fine."

"Does hunger tortures you?"

"I am not hungry… Just very tired."

"Then we will talk about everything in the morning. Goodnight." He said and rose from the bed slowly.

With one last glance and a smile on his old face, he left the room, closing the small door behind him. Minerva sighted and laid her head back onto the pillow.

'_This will be a long night.' _She thought and finally closed her tired eyes.

_Author's note: The other chapters will be longer, this is just a prologue. Read and Review!_

_To be continued..._


	2. Memories of nightmares

_Disclaimer: I own everything but the plot. Sadly, it's the other way around._

_Warning: I changed some of the events in LotR books._

_"Even in the darkness"_

_Chapter 2_

_Memories of nightmares_

Gandalf and Minerva were sitting on the red armchairs in the small living room. The room was bigger than the guest room, but they looked almost alike. The same wooden furniture around them, same old bookshelves on the walls and same soft rug under their feet. The only differences were that there was no bed in the middle of the room, there was a fireplace, and a window on the right side of the wall, from witch light entered the room.

The two of them were sipping the tea that the wizard made. Minerva told the wizard about Hogwarts and the dark lord that threatened it, until they finished their drinks comfortably sitting.

The wizard put down his empty cup and looked at the woman with his sparkling blue eyes. "Who did this to you?" He asked.

"Voldemort." She said his name out loud, not afraid of him anymore if it was a distant past.

"The dark lord? Did he went to the school and tried to kill you?"

The witch smiled a bit. "No, of course not. We were fighting in a war against him."

"It all makes sense now… I think. But how did you get to Middle- earth?"

"I can't remember all the details, but I will try." The witch placed her cup on the table near her, and started her story from the beginning. "The dark lord from our world rose again and continued his hunt for a boy, who almost killed him. And two short years after he gained his power back, the headmaster of this school was … killed. His death made Harry unsafe in Hogwarts and he went on a mission, with two of his friends. After almost a year, they came back to Hogwarts, to complete their task, but Voldemort was informed about it by his spies and came to our school with an army of death eaters. That's how the war started." The woman looked out of the window and waited for the wizard to respond.

He was silent, but after a few minutes he sighted and looked at Minerva sadly. "Your life is very difficult, I guess. You, my lady, had fought a war, that you don't even know, how ended."

"I agree with you, Gandalf…" She wiped her watery green eyes, which were turned at the wizard again. There was a silence between them for a while. "I can not tell you, how it ended, but I can tell you what happened before I came here."

"My ears are at your service." He smiled.

"As I was saying, Voldemort was coming to Hogwarts and we had to secure the castle and all the students in it. The protection didn't last long, the death eaters were in the castle after an hour. Many students and teachers were killed in this cruel battle, but we didn't give up. We fought bravely." The woman trailed, but when Gandalf nodded encouragingly, she continued. "The voice of Voldemort was in my head, he told me that he had captured Harry and ordered for me to go to the Forbidden forest. I couldn't leave that poor boy with the monster, who was going to kill him. So I ran to the forest and then, only after I saw him… I realized it was a mistake."

"He didn't have the boy, did he?" The wizard interrupted.

"No, he didn't. It was a trap…"

***Flashback***

_Minerva ran as fast as she could, avoiding spells, going her way, by dodging and taking cover her eyes directed at the Forbidden forest. Her black hair were coming loose out of her bun, few curls falling on her face; the green dress that she wore was torn, after fighting all these death eaters. Her face looked fearless, with her emerald eyes shining in rage, and blood streaming down her cut cheek. She ran through the battle field, bodies of dead students, who she knew from their first years in this school, laying on the ground, and her eyes watered with tears of sadness that rolled down her cheeks after a moment._

_When she finally reached the deepness of the forest, she saw Voldemort standing with a woman dressed in black robes. They were talking; the man with his usual snake whispering, the woman was listening to him very carefully, with a mad smile on her face._

_The tree nearby was the cover Minerva took and her best hiding place, because it was very wide. She wiped her eyes and with a once again stone cold face, the woman turned to her animagus form, a grey tabby cat, which was a great advantage for not being seen, looking around for Harry. The boy was nowhere around for her to see, so she decided to attack Voldemort and started sneaking behind him, knowing that magic will not help her a lot fighting a wizard like him. The cat jumped into the air, but before it could reach the dark lord, it turned back to Minerva. She fell hard on her back, right before his legs and groaned in pain._

_"You came." The man laughed, looking at her with his red eyes._

_Minerva tried to get up, but couldn't move and gave up. "Where is he?!" she hissed._

_"I don't have him." Voldemort whispered with angriness in his voice. "But I have you." He smiled._

_"Why do you need me?"_

_"Do you remember, Minerva, when all those years ago… I wanted you? I have to say, that I still do." The dark lord leaned closer to her. "But as my Dark Queen."_

_"Never!" The woman shouted. "I would never be your queen!"_

_"No one asked what you want." He hissed. "With a simple spell, you will get the boy for me!"_

_With those words Voldemort raised her into air and called the woman dressed in black to come to him. Only when she came near them, Minerva could see that it was Bellatrix Lestrange, his biggest follower. The death eater laughed and showed her a silver knife._

_"If you'll try to escape" she smiled. "I will enjoy it."_

_The witch tried to struggle and break free, but the dark lord was too powerful for her, invisible ropes entwining her body tightly. Suddenly she felt strong pain ripping through her body, leaving her gasping for air, her mind spinning. Her vision blurred down, but she could hear Voldemort whispering one of his dark spells. The only thing Minerva could do was to scream, as the blood in her veins boiled and her body felt like burning. But she didn't. She wouldn't let that monster call her weak and defenseless._

_She fought against Tom's spell and the pain that it gave her, trying not to black out. All of the sudden, the dark lord flew few feet away from her, with Bellatrix by his side. Minerva dropped on the ground and concentrated her tired mind on apparating. Without any reason she thought about Albus and was gone out of the Forbidden forest. The last thing she saw, before falling on the soft grass with a muffled scream, because the apparition was very painful, was a knife sticking out of her stomach._

***End of Flashback***

"And then you found me." Minerva said.

"This explains your wounds and cuts." Gandalf whispered with serious face.

"The knife was poisonous, wasn't it? That would explain the pain."

The wizard was silent for a minute, but then looked at her face. "Yes, it was. I examined it. The only problem is that I don't know anything about this poison… or how to make an antidote for it."

"I think it's because this poison is of snake." She said sadly. "Voldemort's snake."

"We have to go to Rivendell."

"Why?"

"The only person, who can heal you, lives there. And the time is not on our side right now. I think the pain is going to be stronger and stronger every time."

Minerva looked at the fireplace, which was near them and into the red fire. She thought about the pain she felt only few minutes after waking up and about the pain, which was felt, when Albus left her alone. It was too much for her.

"But you don't know how it feels, do you?" The woman whispered. "The heartache I felt after his death and now… this unbearable pain!"

"I do."

Minerva jumped from her seat, her eyes turning black. "No. Don't lie to me!" She shouted at him.

"Calm down!" Gandalf stood up and tried to touch her face, but his hand was abruptly thrown off.

Minerva raised her hand and the wizard was suffering in great pain. After a moment he fell down on his one knee, not available to stand in this agony. Minute after, he thought about Voldemort's spell and quickly understood everything what was happening. This kind of spell gives the power for the human's dark side to win over the light side. Then, it controls the person, who cannot fight it anymore. The person gets the power that no one has and no one can defeat.

Gandalf looked for an answer for what he could do, if the spell is not finished and found it. The light should defeat darkness, because it doesn't control all of Minerva yet.

"Please, listen to me…" he whispered. "Do not let the dark side control you. Fight…it."

The woman's eyes turned back green for a moment and Gandalf was freed from the pain. He summoned his old wooden staff and stood up.

"Only light can defeat darkness!" He said in thunder voice, as Minerva's eyes mixed with black again.

The white light spread in the room and the witch fell on her knees. Her eyes glowed for a moment, but when it faded, she started falling backwards. Before the woman could make a contact with the ground, Gandalf's strong arms caught her.

"I am sorry." She whispered, looking into his eyes.

"It is not your fault, my dear lady." He said stroking her hair. "It's the spell. It controlled you."

Gandalf embraced her, his fingers never letting go of her soft dark locks. Her arms found his firm shoulder, wrapping up tightly around them. They sat like that for a few minutes, until Minerva gasped and gripped his arm in pain. It was stronger than before, much stronger. Her body felt like it was broached by hundred knifes at the same time. It was unbearable pain.

She breathed heavily, lack of oxygen feeling in her lungs. The wizard found her hand and squeezed it, closing his eyes. Minerva was freed from the pain and opened her eyes, with a glance at Gandalf sudden realization downing on her. He relieved the insufferable pain for her.

"Gandalf?" her hand rose to his cheek, a hint of sadness in her voice.

The man opened his eyes. "I'm alright." He smiled. "I couldn't watch you suffer, when I could help you instead."

With a sight Minerva's hand dropped in her lap. "Promise me, that you won't do it again."

"I can n-"

"Please." The witch interrupted. "Promise me. I have to cope with it myself."

"I promise." He furrowed his eyebrows.

Gandalf scooped her into his arms and, ignoring her protests, carried her to the guest room, which potentially became her bedroom. He laid her on the soft and very warm bed.

"It is late. It was a really long day." He smiled a little and covered her with a blanket "You should sleep. Goodnight, dear lady." He added and turned to leave.

"Goodnight…" Minerva whispered to the closed door.

Few moments later Minerva fell into a deep sleep, full of scary, heartbreaking nightmares.

* * *

"_Albus" Minerva whispered through tears. "Please don't leave me…"_

_The woman held his hand softly, his head on her lap, while the cold rain poured from above. The tears, rolling down her white cheeks, mixed with pure crystal rain drops and fell on Albus' bleeding body. He was breathing heavily, slower and slower with every minute. They both knew that this was the end. The end of the great Albus Dumbledore._

"_I will always be with you, Minerva. In here…" With his weak black hand he pointed to the spot on his chest, where his dying heart was._

_The freezing rain soaked them both to the bone, but neither of them felt it. Albus' heart beating was the only thing the woman was concentrated to. She almost couldn't feel it._

"_I will miss your stubborn temper… and our intriguing chess matches. Even if you always won." He chuckled and touched Minerva's cheek. "I love you, my dear. I always have." The man smiled and she returned it, but it quickly faded, when he started couching._

"_I love you, too." She whispered._

_Albus' blue eyes found Minerva's green ones and smile appeared on his face for the last time. After that, his hand slowly dropped in his lap and he moved no more._

Minerva woke up startled by a third nightmare in this long night. She was very tired of them, because they all were the same, with Albus found dead, or dying in her arms and him confessing his love for her. She did love him, but never had the courage to tell him. That is one of the biggest mistakes she did in her whole life.

_'I need some fresh air.'_ She thought, a tear rolling down her cheek.

The witch got out of the warm bed and looked around for clothes to wear, getting the fact, that she was still wearing Gandalf's big grey shirt. She looked inside the wardrobe and found far too small for her tartan shirt, brown leather pants and black, almost knee length boots.

"Where is my wand?" she whispered, lighting another candle, but quickly putting it out. "Am I witch or not!" She hissed, closing her eyes. "Accio wand!"

The wand flew right into her hand, from a drawer of an old closet. She found her square glasses there too and transfigured them to a hair brush. But then, her mind caught the fact that she didn't wear them with Gandalf. Her vision is perfect in this world. Minerva smiled to herself and brushed her long hair, turning comb back to glasses when she finished. She whispered something and a few hair pins appeared in her palm. The woman put her hair into a loose bun, no need to look as strict as always.

The woman adjusted the clothes size with a help of magic. She's a transfiguration teacher after all! She put them on and left Gandalf's shirt in the drawer.

With one last thought Minerva left the room, leaving the door open and into the dark hall. But before she could reach the end of it, the murmurs from Gandalf's room reached her ears. The woman hesitated for a minute, but turned around and silently entered his bedroom. She saw the wizard lying, murmuring in his sleep. Minerva caught a few words:

"Let her go... No, don't! Take me instead… Galadriel!"

The last one sounded like a familiar name for the witch. She knew that she had heard it somewhere. But she put her all thoughts away and closed the door of the room behind her. Gandalf's life is none of her business.

Minerva went to the small table near the green front door and left a note for the wizard. Then, she put on an old brown cloak, which was a little too big for her, covered her head with it, because it was raining heavily, and left the small house. The witch turned into a cat once she was outside, so others wouldn't notice her .It was dark, only moon light was showing her path, but the woman saw everything around her, because of her cat vision.

She went slowly at first, but then quickened her pace and almost flew through brown fields, until she reached a forest. There were no one around for her to see and the cat turned back to Minerva.

The trees in the forest were the color of dark brown, like their small leaves. Up above one very high pine, the full moon was shining, creating the tall shadows on the ground. But one thing, that the woman couldn't take her eyes of, was a small, crystal clear waterfall on a green hill. It looked amazing, how the lake which was under it, was reflecting the moonlight. The raindrops disturbed the water's surface, creating round waves of circles, but it still shone in silver.

Minerva found a lonely tree near the wide lake and sat under it. The rain still reached her through the big leaves and she pulled out her dark wand. With a wave of it, the rain stopped pouring on her and went around, like there was a shield.

With a sight the witch put her wand back into its place, her mind screaming Albus' name. She tried not to think about him, but quickly understood that she couldn't. Minerva thought about him every day and even now, when she tried not to. She became angry on him, that he left her alone in this world, without saying goodbye. He left her and will never come back. The woman became angry at the same moment on Gandalf, but she didn't know why. She just did. But the angriest she was on herself, because of how emotional she became.

Somehow, Minerva's thoughts were pushed aside, as she looked at the lake again. There was a big grey stone near the waterfall and her mind concentrated on it. She wanted to try to transfigure it with her mind, if that is even possible for her. The witch gasped, as the rock turned to a dark butterfly and flew to her. It landed in her hand and Minerva concentrated on it again. A red rose appeared in its place.

Then, Minerva touched it with her fingertips and the flower burned to ashes, leaving the flame in hand. It didn't hurt for her, but she was in shock, because she couldn't control anything with her hands. The flame slid from finger to finger, burning brighter and brighter, until the woman turned it into cool ice.

After a minute, spent examining the frozen flame, Minerva stood up and threw it into the lake. Her head went up and she could see that the moon still shone in the sky, so she could be here a little longer, till the sunrise.

The lake was a size of a fountain, not too big, not too small. And suddenly the witch had an idea, which could show her just how powerful she became. She could try freeze the water and then, if she succeeds, it would be perfect for skating.

As a little girl, Minerva went skating with her father. He bought her ice skates, color of blue, just like his. They did that every winter, till she was thirteen years old, because then – her father was killed by Grindelwald. After his death she never went skating again.

Minerva went slowly to the water, put her hand in it and it was solid frozen with clear ice.

'I only have to remember how to skate again.' She thought with a smile.

When she transfigured her boots into ice skates, the sun was almost up, the rain stopped pouring. She didn't have much time before she has to go back, so she had to hurry.

The woman jumped on the ice, her legs not failing her even a bit. She started skating, slowly at first, but faster with every new trick, that she remembered. Minerva jumped into air and spun around, perfectly landing on one leg. It looked like she didn't stop skating after her father's death. It looked like it was in her blood.

The dark cloak was thrown off her shoulder, on the ice, her dark hair, out of her loose bun, shining from the sunlight, were billowing behind her.

Suddenly, Minerva gasped, as the ice broke under her legs. In seconds she was in water, sinking because of her heavy skates. She tried to lift her body up, but ripped her leg painfully into a very sharp stone, tearing her pants and lost all her hope to see sun in this bone chilling water. She closed her eyes slowly and let her body hit the bottom of the deep lake.

* * *

When Gandalf woke up, Minerva was left an hour ago. He got out of the bed, put on his grey robes and yawned loudly. He went out of his room and saw the other guest room doors open. The wizard looked inside, but saw, that the woman wasn't there.

"Minerva!" He shouted, going all around the house, looking for any clue where she was.

Gandalf took his staff, put on his old hat with silver scarf and was ready to go to look for her. He was one step outside the house, when he saw a note on the little table. The wizard got inside again, closed the door and picked up the note wrote in green letters. He read the words it said:

_Gandalf,_

_I went for a walk. I should be back by sunrise, but if I am not, don't worry, I'm just late._

_Truly yours,_

_Minerva._

The man chuckled and put the note in his pocket. It was still dark outside the window, but she should be back in an hour, or so. Gandalf took off his hat and scarf, and remembered, that he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. He went to the kitchen and picked up some tasty food.

After his stomach was full again, he thought about a dream, that he had.

_Gandalf sat in dark cave, with his hands and legs chained together. In the other side of the room, Minerva laid down on the cold ground, her eyes closed, and a strand of hair on her white face. She didn't move, but the wizard knew, that she was still alive and he had to save her._

"_Let her go, Witch king!" The man shouted to the nazgul leader, which was standing near the woman._

"_And what will you do wizard?" He laughed. "Sauron wants her dead, because she is the only one who can defeat him." He looked at the woman and raised his sword._

"_No, don't!" Gandalf shouted, trying to break free. "Take me instead!"_

"_Oh, I will… But only when I am done with her!"_

_With those words Witch king's flaming sword was in Minerva's chest. She opened her eyes in shock, gasped and turned her head at the wizard. With a little smile, her eyes closed and never opened again._

_Gandalf's tears were dropping on cave's cold floor, while the nazgul cleaned his bloody sword._

"_It's your turn, old man!"_

_The Witch king went to the wizard with his killing instrument, but as he was about to take his life away, fell dead on the ground. Bright light filled the room and Gandalf's chains broke into pieces._

"_You're too late, Galadriel!" He crawled to Minerva and took her cold hand. "Too late…"_

Gandalf sighted and looked out of the window. The sun was rising in the sky.

"She should be back soon." He whispered into his tea cup.

After he finished his drink, the wizard stood up and went to sit on the armchair near the fireplace. He took a book from a table and started reading. It was not very interesting and Minerva occupied his mind again, so he fell asleep.

_To be continued..._


	3. Friend or foe?

_Disclaimer: I own everything but the plot. Sadly, it's the other way around._

_Warning: I changed some of the events in LotR books._

_"Even in the darkness"_

_Chapter 3_

_Friend or foe?_

Gandalf jumped from his sleep, as the door to his left closed with a thud. He saw Minerva standing, looking around with a wand in her hand. She had a snow white cloak on her that was too big. The wizard seen it somewhere, but he didn't remember where.

"Minerva!" He smiled and stood up, the book falling from his lap. But before it could reached the floor, Minerva's raised hand stopped it in midair. He looked at her in shock. "I did not know you could do that." The wizard mumbled.

"Me either." She said, levitating the book on the table.

"Are you alright?" Gandalf asked concerned, noticing her white as paper face.

"I am cold… Can I get some tea?"

"Of course, my lady." He smiled.

Gandalf went to make drinks, while Minerva sat down on an armchair that was previously preoccupied by him. She clutched the white cloak tighter around her and looked thoughtfully into the dying fire.

She sat like that for a few minutes, when a cup of tea appeared in front of her eyes, her head clear again.

Minerva took the cup. "Thank you." She whispered, sipping her drink.

"You are very welcome." He smiled and sat down opposite her. "Where have you been?"

"That is a very long story… And I have to say, that I almost died. Again." The woman sighted.

"What?!" Gandalf gasped. "What happened? Where…How?"

"I went for a walk, because I couldn't sleep." The woman said. "And I had a few adventures."

Minerva told the wizard about her journey to the forest, then how she found the waterfall and lake. But she didn't tell him about her magic, changing the part about freezing the lake with her hand, with freezing it with her wand. The last thing she told was about skating.

"Then, the ice broke under my legs and I fell into the water. I started sinking, because of my heavy ice skates and I panicked. My right leg was cut by a sharp stone, hope left my soul and… I gave up. But as you can see now, there still was hope."

***Flashback***

_Fortunately, before Minerva touched the bottom, strong arms caught her by her waist. The person quickly pulled her out of the lake and laid her cold body on the ice._

_The woman spat the water out and took a deep breath of air. She opened her eyes slowly and saw a pair of dark grey eyes starring at her intensively._

_"Are you alright?" The man asked in deep, soothing, full of concern voice._

_"I… Wha- thank you." She said with a smile._

_"There is no need to thank me." He said, returning the smile wholeheartedly. "I have to say, that the ice is melting. We should go somewhere safer."_

_The stranger held his hand for Minerva and she took it without another thought. She stood up, but when she tried to walk a few steps, her leg hurt badly._

_She groaned and put her hand on her hip. "That bloody leg!"_

_"Indeed bloody." He said as a matter of fact, looking at her bleeding leg. "I will carry you."_

_"Thank you for your offer, but I can wa-"_

_"No, you can't." The man interrupted her._

_"Yes, I can." She protested and took a step, which ended up with a fall on the stranger._

_"Now, that we established that you can not walk, let me help you, dear lady."_

_"N-"_

_Before Minerva could say anything, the man scooped her into his arms carried her to the same lonely tree, where the woman sat previously. He put her down in sitting position, her back to the tree and started unbuttoning his white cloak._

_"What are you doing?!" The witch hissed, putting her hand around her wand tightly._

_"I think you're cold, or are you not?" he asked, putting it around her. "I should take a look at your bloody leg." He laughed and took off her skates off._

_"Who are you?" Minerva asked, looking at his white long hair and beard._

_The man was silent for a moment, but looked into her eyes softly and smiled. "I am Saruman the White… The wisest of Middle-earth wizards. And your name?"_

_"Minerva McGonagall." She said and whispered a drying spell on herself and on Saruman._

_"You're a witch." A smile appeared on his face. "That means you are not from this world?" He asked with curiosity in his voice._

_"Yes, I am not from here." The woman said._

_After a minute he put on her skates and she transfigured them into her boots, with a light swish of her wand. "Your leg should be alright, but it might still hurt a little."_

_"Thank you, Saruman. For everything." Minerva whispered, her eyes meeting his black ones for a second._

_The woman looked at her leg. It was bandaged just like her waist. Tears started gathering in her eyes, from thought of how unlucky she was. Her body was wounded, she was under an evil spell and she almost drowned._

_Then, Minerva thought about all this bad luck from the other side. She was with Gandalf, who would always help her and now, she met Saruman, who saved her life and took care of her._

_The witch took control of herself again and looked at the sky. "What time is it?" She asked._

_"An hour past sunrise." Saruman stated, glancing at the cloudy sky._

_"I am late. I have to go back." Minerva mumbled, standing up with the man's help. "He does not know where I am."_

_"You are going back to Gandalf, aren't you?" He said and saw shock in her eyes. "I am his friend… Or I was."_

_"How do you know that?" She questioned._

_"He always helps people in need. That's what he does."_

_"I can see that." The woman laughed._

_"I will walk you back to the Shire, so you could tell me more about your world."_

_They went together through forest, talking about wands, wizards and the dark lord from both of the worlds. They quickly reached their destination: Hobbiton's fields could be seen._

_"I think we are near enough the shire that you could go alone." The wizard stopped walking and looked at Minerva._

_"I should give you back your cloak." She whispered with a little smile and raised her hands to take it off._

_"No." Saruman covered her hands with his. "This will be a reason for us to meet again."_

_His dark eyes looked into her green ones deeply and he raised her hand to his lips. The man kissed it softly and put it gently back to its place._

_"Good luck, Minerva." The white wizard said and turned her at the direction of the Shire. "See you soon." He whispered into her ear, and was gone._

_Minerva turned around to say goodbye, but only to see the shadows that fell from the tall trees. She sighted and turned back at the view of the Hibbiton._

***End of Flashback***

"Saruman saved you." Gandalf stated, furrowing his thick eyebrows.

"Yes, he did. Is that bad?" She said, her eyes trying not to meet his.

"Of course it's good! But you can not trust him, Minerva… He is working with Sauron."

The woman was silent. She didn't want to believe, in what Gandalf says.

"Is that why he said that you were with him, but not anymore?" She broke the silence.

"I didn't want to believe it either… He was my best friend, the one I trusted."

"When are we leaving?" She changed the subject.

"Tomorrow morning." He said, his face full of worry. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Minerva snapped at him and stood up.

She left Gandalf alone, going right into her bedroom. The door shut behind her with a bang, her cloak flying on the table. Her body sunk on the ground her back to the bed, tears pouring down her white cheeks.

Saruman was on her mind, while she cried in frustration and anger. He was a bad guy, who saved her. But she didn't count him as one. He was her savior. Gandalf could think anything he wanted, she didn't care. He didn't do anything bad for her.

With last thoughts she wiped her eyes, so they would be dry and got herself up from the cold floor. All of the sudden, she felt very dizzy, it was hard for her to breath, her mind spinning once again. Minerva went to the door, her legs almost giving up on her, her vision blurring. Her hand found the door knob and she opened them, leaning heavily on the door frame.

"Gandalf?" She called weakly, her eyes stopping on her bloody shirt.

"Yes?" He appeared before her. "Oh no…" His face darkened in seconds.

The wizard came nearer to her and took her cold hand. "Don't worry, I will help you. Just lay down on the bed, I will be back soon."

Minerva nodded and Gandalf ran to his room. She turned around, a need to lay down in her mind, and started waking towards the bed. Her legs disobeyed her and she could not stand anymore, but before she could fall, strong arms went around her shoulders.

"Hold on, Minerva." The wizard said, helping her to lie down softly.

She looked into his clear blue eyes. "Promise… Promise, that you won't leave me."

"I won't… I promise." He whispered.

With one last glance at her white face, Gandalf unbuttoned her shirt and picked up a knife that he carried here. He cut the bandage in half and the blood flowed down on the bed sheets, coloring them in dark red.

Minerva's breathing slowed down, deep sleep was taking over her and her eyes closed, not available to stay open anymore.

"No!" Gandalf cried out, shaking her body softly. "Please… Stay awake."

Heartbeat, that he almost felt stopped and breath froze in her lungs. Minerva McGonagall was dead.

* * *

_The moment the heart of Minerva McGonagall stopped beating, she appeared in an empty cold place, no Gandalf by her side. The area around her had no contours, or maybe it was so big, that she could not see them in the darkness surrounding her. The only thing she saw was the ground, which was covered with flat grey stones._

_Minerva started walking, looking for a way out of here, but after a moment she was stopped by a blood freezing voice._

"_Minerva McGonagall…How unexpected." A black, tall figure appeared in front of the woman. "I thought you would live longer."_

"_I am dead?" She gasped, fear and shock filling her mind._

"_That is right. You are in my kingdom. The kingdom of Death."_

_Death raised its hands and seven, color of dark red chairs were created from thin air, the biggest of them, which was the throne of the leader, in the middle. After a moment six people arouse from the ground and sat down on them. They were faceless and dressed in black, one of them carrying sheets of paper._

"_We will judge you and see if it really is your time to die." The lord of death said and sat down on his throne. The man on his left gave him one long scroll and it unrolled itself._

_Minerva waited nervously for death to finish reading, her mind spinning. She thought about Albus and a chance to be with him again, even at this price. Her heart longed to see him again, to see his smile and those brilliant twinkling blue eyes. They could finally talk and she could ask why he left her without saying goodbye, or anything, at that matter. _

_But her thoughts about Gandalf were stronger somehow and all she could think of was what would he do now. Would he bury her wounded body in the Middle-earth? Or would he take her back to Hogwarts? But she knew that that was not possible. There was no way for anyone to get out of Middle-earth._

_Minerva would never see her family again, nor her friends or students. And she would never know how the story of Voldemort went further. Was he defeated by Harry Potter? Or did he found and kill the boy?_

"_You have been at the edge of the death many times, but every time, the luck was on your side. Until today, that is." The death said loudly, causing the woman to jump slightly. "You have died from the heavy bleeding of your wound."_

'_This is it, the end.' She thought sadly._

"_The jury had made a decision!" The man sitting next to death announced._

"_The luck, which didn't let you die, Minerva McGonagall, returned to your side. We can not take your soul this time. You are free to go." The black leader said. "The reason for that is the spell you are under, which keeps you safe. It heals you, when you let it control you, so basically, you can not die. You have to let it take over you if you want to live, but once your soul is I your body you can try to fight it."_

_The woman smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you." She said._

"_Until the next time." Death whispered._

_Everything surrounding Minerva melted and turned black, as she let the dark take over her._

* * *

The first thing Minerva felt was someone's shaking hand holding hers. She opened her eyes slowly, finally taking a breath of warm air. Her eyes saw Gandalf watching her with a shocked expression on his face.

His hand started caressing her face and he smiled. "You're alive… But how?" Gandalf whispered.

He gasped, as the blood which was spilled from her went back into her wound and it healed, leaving no scar or mark on her body.

Minerva turned to look at the wizard, with her turning black eyes from the darkness controlling her. But before spell could take over her completely, she sighted and her eyes slowly turned green again.

She closed them. "I was dead… But darkness saved me."

"It did." He said sadly. "You were dead only for a minute…"

She looked at him and her hand lifted to his cheek. "Everything is alright now. I am alive." Minerva whispered.

Gandalf stood up slowly and sat on the edge of the bed. The woman sat up and his arms came around her. "You're tired. You should go to sleep." He said, as he noticed her yawning.

"Will you be here for me?" The witch asked.

"I will." The wizard smiled and never letting go of the woman in his arms, laid down with her on the small bed.

Minerva closed her eyes once again, her back to Gandalf firm chest, their hands together. "You know, at some point I wanted to die…" Her voice broke the silence after a while. "Just to see everyone I lost again."

"I think you will. But not soon, I hope." The man said and was silent for a minute. "I miss the ones I lost, too. Every day."

With a sight Minerva snuggled closer to him and quickly fell asleep. Gandalf stroked her soft hair gently, his thoughts wandering far away, until the sleep claimed him as well.

* * *

Minerva woke up, as she heard someone humming merrily and opened her eyes. Gandalf's blue eyes were fixed on her, smile playing on his lips as her hand was in his larger one.

She smiled and yawned a little. "What time is it?"

"Three hours till sunrise. Time to get up." He said. "How are you feeling?"

"Dirty." The woman looked at her bloody, mixed with dirt clothes. "I need a shower."

Gandalf chuckled and slowly got out of the bed. "I will get some breakfast."

With one last glance at her green eyes, he left the room and went to the kitchen. Minerva sat up and stretched, then stood up, went to the small bathroom, walking past the wizard, who was cooking bacon and closed the wooden door behind her. The woman slowly undressed, dropping her dirty clothes on the ground by her legs. Her waist was not covered in bandages and she could finally see her wound, trying to kill her every day. It was on her body once again, which meant that the darkness controlling her heals it only temporarily.

Then, Minerva took off the bandages from her right leg and threw them into the trash bin. There was a long cut going down the lower part, to her ankle. It was not deep and was healing quickly, letting the woman walk normally again.

The shower the woman took was cold, for her body to cool down a bit. It was very relaxing, but after a few minutes she got out of the water and got dressed again. A whispered spell dried her dripping wet hair and cleaned her dirty clothes.

Gandalf sat in the kitchen, eating fried eggs with bacon. His light eyes fell on Minerva, as she was emerging from the bathroom and he couldn't help a smile. She looked so relaxed, like never before; her face was shining with joy and energy, her green eyes had a twinkle. But the best thing was that she had a smile on her face.

The woman sat on the chair opposite Gandalf and put some eggs in her empty white plate.

"You look beautiful today, my lady." The wizard smiled to her.

"Thank you." Minerva blushed a little and sipped her orange juice.

"Are you ready for our journey?"

"Almost. I only need to pick a few things…Do you have a bag?"

"I think I could find a backpack, if that suits you."

They finished their meals talking about Rivendell and the friendly elves that live there. After that, Gandalf left in the kitchen to wash the dishes, while Minerva went to her room to pack.

She chose to pick the grey shirt, which the wizard gave her; the square glasses, because she still could need them; her green torn dress, as a bad memory; the silver knife, which almost killed her and a packet of fresh food.

Gandalf gave Minerva a small old backpack, which she transfigured to a bigger one, and she put everything in neatly. The last thing she had to do was to pick up her wand, lying in a drawer. But the wizard interrupted her by showing white bandages in his hands.

"You need them." He said strictly, as she started to protest.

"Fine… But I will put them on myself." The woman said as strictly as he.

Gandalf sighted and looked into her eyes deeply. "Don't be so stubborn and let me help you."

The man motioned for her to sit down on the bed and she did, not wanting to argue anymore. He took off her right boot and bandaged her leg, while Minerva unbuttoned her clean tartan shirt. When he finished, what he was doing, his hands rose to her chest and he touched her wound with his fingertips.

"Dark heals you only for a short time." Gandalf stated, his hands reaching for the other bandages.

"I know… But I will not use it just so I could not feel the pain." Minerva raised her hands to help him cover her waist easily.

"That is very wise." He whispered more to himself than to her and finished his job, buttoning her shirt to the top.

The woman put on her shoe and Gandalf stood up. "Thank you." She smiled a little.

"I will wait for you outside." The man returned her smile, turned around and left the room.

Minerva stood up and walked to the drawer where the last item she needed to pick up was. She opened it and saw her wand, but the thing next to it was the thing she forgot about. It was neatly folded Saruman's cloak, which she threw on the ground last night. Gandalf must have put it in when she was sleeping.

The woman took her wand and transfigured the white cloth to a dark green one. There was no reason for that, but she felt like her fellow wizard didn't need to know about it. Minerva unfolded the cloak and dressed herself in it, putting the backpack on her back. The wooden wand was put in her pocket, as the woman glanced at her bed one last time and slowly left the room.

"Finally!" Gandalf greeted her with a chuckle.

"You left me only two minutes ago." Minerva went to him and he looked at her cloak suspiciously for a minute. "What is it?"

"Nothing." He smiled strangely, turned his head to left and whistled loudly.

A majestic white horse could be seen running towards them, with its silver mane billowing in the air. The shining moon reflected from its fur, coloring it in dark sky blue. The animal stopped before Gandalf and the man patted its head gently.

"This is Shadowfax." The wizard said softly. "He will carry us to Rivendell as fast as he can."

Minerva only smiled, not finding any words to say, and Gandalf got on the horse easily. He gave a hand to the woman and helped her do the same in front of him. When they both were sitting comfortable enough, the man whispered something and Shadowfax started running in the speed of wind.

_To be continued..._


	4. Long way to Rivendell

_Disclaimer: I own everything but the plot. Sadly, it's the other way around._

_Warning: I changed some of the events in LotR books._

"_Even in the darkness"_

_Chapter 4  
_

_Long way to Rivendell_

It was dark night, when they reached the gates of the Bree. The sky was clear and stars were shining brightly, no clouds floated to cover them. Darkness was surrounding them, only full moon showing the path for the wizard, who was riding with wide open eyes, unlike Minerva. She was sleeping peacefully, her head leaning on his firm shoulder, his arm around her waist keeping her in place, her chest lifting rhythmically.

Gandalf rang the bell loudly and waited for someone to come out. Finally, the gatekeeper showed and let them in without any questions, seeing that it's the familiar wizard and a sleeping woman beside him. They rode in silence to the "Prancing pony", where they were going to spend the night and where Frodo was supposed to do that, too.

The man looked at Minerva and sighted sadly. He didn't want to wake her up, because it has been a very long day, but she had to eat something. He lowered his head to her ear. "Wake up, Minerva." The man whispered softly and saw the woman shiver in exchange.

He was about to say it again, when the door of the inn opened and a little hobbit appeared in the doorway. "Mr. Butterbur!" He called, opening the wooden door wider.

"What is it Nob?" A short, fat, red faced man came to the view of the wizard and gasped. "Gandalf! Oh my… I- I." He started stuttering and before anyone could say anything, collapsed on the floor.

The woman jumped from her sleep and pulled out her wand very quickly, pointing it at the hobbit, who paled instantly.

"Calm down, Minerva." The man behind her said. "Everything is all right."

The witch put her wand back to the pocket of her cloak and sighted. "Why is this man on the floor?" She asked, but the answer didn't reach her ears.

Nob leaned to Butterbur and patted his face gently, causing the other man to open his eyes. "Am I dreaming?" He asked, and quickly stood up, as if to run from the wizard that was now walking slowly towards him.

"I guess you're so afraid of my sight, because you forgot about the letter." Gandalf stated coldly.

"I- I didn't mean it. There was so much to do, that I completely forgot about it… But… but they were here. Four hobbits…" He said as fast as he could, backing away from now very angry looking wizard.

Butterbur shrieked, as Gandalf caught him by him by his collar and shook him wildly. "Are they all right?!" He asked in a voice of thunder, causing the man to close his eyes.

"Yes, yes of course! They left this morning with Strider!"

The wizard let go of the poor man and sighted with a smile. "Oh Valar!" He hugged the man in a burst of happiness. "May your beer be laid under an enchantment of surpassing excellence for seven years!"

"I have a headache already…" Minerva sighted, standing behind them and trying to figure out what's happening. "You wanted to kill him a second ago and now you're best friends?"

The two men let go of each other and Gandalf looked at the woman." I will tell you everything after our dinner… which I am sure we will have?" He glances at Butterbur questioningly again.

"Why of course!" The man squealed in delight. "Nob! Get this magnificent horse to the stables."

"Thank you, but I will do it myself." The wizard interrupted with a smile.

"As you wish! I will lead your beautiful lady to your usual room, where you can join us when you're done." Barliman motioned for the witch to come inside the pub, while the grey wanderer went to the stables with Shadowfax.

They went inside, Nob leading the way and Minerva scanned the room instantly. There were two large tables in the middle of the room and few smaller, seated with drunk and very noisy men, few of them singing some nonsense, while the others tried to dance. Another table was by a fireplace, which was the only one empty, and another one was in the dark corner of the inn. Three men were sitting there, hoods and smoke of pipe weed covering their faces, silence surrounding them. There was much light in the room, candles standing on every table, kerosene lamps hanging on the walls.

The little hobbit led them to a wooden bar, near old dark stairs, that led to the rooms of the "Prancing pony." Minerva now knew, what a hobbit was and how they looked like.

"Do you have a name, my dear?" Butterbur asked with a smile, taking the keys that Nob got from a cupboard.

"Minerva McGonagall, and you?" The woman asked softly, but gasped after a second as someone put a hand on her arm.

"Barliman Butterbur." Gandalf said, patting her shoulder. "Can we get some food? We haven't eaten all day."

"Of course." The short man said and led them to the empty table near the fireplace. "I will come back after a minute…Oh! I almost forgot…" He put keys in the hand of the wizard. "These are from your room… Nob! Serve our other visitors, while I talk to the most important guests."

"Yes, sir." The hobbit said and they both left, walking to different directions.

Gandalf took off his grey hat, along with his long silver scarf and put them on the table. His long wooden staff found its place near its master, and the man finally sat down. His eyes found Minerva's emerald ones and he smiled, shoving the keys in his palm.

"Our room is second to the left." He said.

The woman took the keys and grinned. "You mean _your usual_ room? Do you always stay here with a woman by your side? Because the man seemed accustomed to the fact that you brought me together."

Gandalf chuckled a little. "I have never brought any other woman here beside you." He smiled to her. "And Butterbur is used to me, not you, because I know his family for generations."

"How old are you exactly?"

"This is for you to know later."

"Mysterious as every wizard." Minerva rolled her eyes and turned around.

The woman went to the stairs and was about to go up, when she heard the wizard calling her name silently, because of all the loud songs ringing in the inn. She turned to him and saw a somehow guilty look on his face.

"Could you…" He started, but froze in a middle of sentence, as Minerva raised her arm and his grey hat and scarf flew into her hand.

"Of course." She said, seeing shock in the eyes of the man.

Minerva turned around once again and went up the stairs, not noticing a very important thing. The looks, of three silent men sitting in the corner, directed at her back. The witch went to the door of their room and unlocked them with one of the silver keys, which Gandalf gave her. She went inside and with a mere thought of light, a big fireplace and a bunch of candles light up, showing her everything around.

The room was large, but the woman might have seen it that way, because of the days spent at the little hobbit's house. There were two green armchairs near the fireplace, with a small wooden table between them. It surprisingly looked like the view in her living room, at Hogwarts. Not very far away stood a big dark bed, which apparently was Gandalf's, because Butterbur wouldn't let him sleep in a little bed, which stood in the corner of the room, under a large window. But Minerva didn't like the fact, that there were no books or bookshelves in the room.

The woman took of her backpack and cloak, sending them flying on the bed where she will be sleeping. She looked through the window, but her eyes couldn't see anything in the darkness of the night, so she turned to her right and went to the green armchairs. Gandalf's hat and scarf found their place on the table and the witch went to the door, closing them behind her as she left.

Minerva saw the wizard eating sausages by the table, but when his eyes found hers, he stopped, put the fork down on his plate again and smiled. There was another plate of food, waiting for her to come, and inviting her with delightful smells. Without another thought the woman went to the table were Gandalf ate, and sat down before him.

"I am very hungry." She said, quickly picking up her fork, and the man chuckled merrily. "Why are you laughing? It's your fault, because you're the one who didn't want to stop even for a second."

"That is because we had no time for activities as such."

Minerva glared at him from her plate, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Than I am very thankful, because I think that if not my health, we would have ridden until your eyes shut close!"

Gandalf was silent for a moment, but then sighted softly and looked at her. "Your health is the reason I did not want to stop… There is no time to waste for us. And we are spending the night here, because I have to talk to Butterbur, which is the reason I wanted to kill him for a second."

The woman opened her mouth to say something, but when Barliman came to their table and sat down next to her, it fell shut.

"I am sorry for interrupting, but I have a little bit of free time right now for our talk." He said.

With a smile Gandalf finished his meal and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Let's go to our room, then." He stood up and picked up his wooden staff.

"Of course." Butterbur stood up again and called Nob. "Clean the table." He said to him.

The wizard looked at Minerva. "Are you going to join us, my lady?" He asked.

"I am sorry, but no. I'd rather sit here and have a drink." She said coldly, her glare directed at her plate.

"Well then…" Barliman interrupted awkwardly. "You know where you can find us. If you need anything, ask Nob."

The wizard looked at her for a second and left the table with his friend. They went upstairs, leaving the witch alone, with Nob, who was collecting their dishes.

"What drink would you like?" He asked nicely.

"Red wine, if you have it." She said and put her empty plate on the pile of dishes that the hobbit carried.

"Right away." He smiled, straightened his back and left the witch alone once again.

He returned after a minute, carrying a bottle of wine and a glass. "Here you go." The little hobbit put everything down.

"Thank you, Nob." Minerva smiled a little and poured herself some dark red wine.

He bowed his head for the woman, because she was one of those visitors, who called him by his name, which happened very rarely and he was very happy at this point. But the hobbit could not stay any longer, by her side, because a man called his loudly to bring some more ale. He left to get drinks, while the woman drank her wine, enjoying the wonderful taste.

"Look what you done, you stupid rat!" A bald, muscular man jumped from his chair, when Nob poured ale all over him, as he tripped over someone's leg, which was not in its place.

The angry man hit the hobbit in the head with his big fist, causing the little creature to fall down on the ground, his face covered in dark blood. The attacker was about to kick him, when a fork sank into his leg, a howl erupted from his lips. Everyone turned their eyes to Minerva, who was the one who did that.

"Don't you touch him!" She jumped from her seat, putting her almost empty glass on the table.

The, now red from anger faced, man pulled out the fork from his tight and threw it on the ground with a bang, swearing as loud as he could. "You will get it!" He shouted and fled towards her.

The woman didn't lost her mind, as the man was about to hit her and when only few centimeters were left between them, she took a step to her left. The attacker wasn't fast enough to react and ran straight into the table, where the witch was sitting a minute ago, breaking it in half, a bottle of wine shattering on the ground. He groaned loudly, not available to stand up anymore and the woman, after a last sad glance at her spilled wine, turned to look at Nob, but the sight that greeted her was not one of the kind.

Minerva sighted, as she saw another three men slowly walking to her, their faces full of anger. They were not bold like the last one, but only had a few hair on their head, one of them with dark moustache. All of them were heavy muscular, even more that their leader, which was lying unconscious on the broken table. Her hand wandered in her pockets, but she couldn't find her wand. Then she remembered that she put it in her cloak, which was lying on her bed right now.

'No magic? That's just what I need, with all these wounds on my body.' She thought.

The first man jumped at her with a hope to hit her in the face, but the woman blocked his attempt with her arm. She kicked with her knee into his stomach, but not as strongly as she would have wanted, causing the man to flee back from her, his hands covering the place where she hit. Her fingers gripped his shoulder tightly, before he could recover and in one swift movement threw him at the other man, who was coming at her with a chair. They both fell down on the ground, a face, of the man with a wood in his hand, covered in blood, possibly because of a broken nose.

A gasp escaped her lips, as someone sneaked up behind her and put a knife against her throat. It was the third man, of those who wanted to kill her and now, he was laughing into her ear. Minerva knew what to do in situations like this, even without magic, because of the long years of auror training, so she didn't panic. The woman grabbed his hand and then crushed his foot with her own, using all her might, and the man dropped his knife instantly, roaring in rage. She turned around to hit him, but before she could, his fist hit her in the stomach very hard, right into the place were her wound was. Her body was set on flame and a scream of agony left her mouth, the pain taking over her body.

The laugh of the man rang in the inn, as the woman fell on all fours, blood filling her mouth and air leaving her lungs. Her hand rose to her wound, covering it but afraid to touch it, as if it could help her to block the pain. It became very hard to control the darkness, trying to take over, but everything changed as she heard the following words.

"Is that all you can?" The man mocked her, causing the other men in the pub to laugh loudly.

"No…" Minerva whispered and a knife flew into her hand. Her eyes found his dark ones and she smiled. "Of course not." She threw it at him and it sank into his chest, in the spot where his beating heart was.

The man fell down against a wall and the witch sighted with relief, which was the only sound that was heard in the sudden silence. The pain was still as strong as before, but she gritted her teeth and stood up slowly. Her eyes scanned the room and saw, that every man was slowly backing up to the door. She glared at them angrily for a moment, but then heard someone crying.

"Get out." Minerva hissed to them, spitting the blood out of her mouth, which was already streaming down her chin and jaw, and the crowd flew through the exit as fast as they could, pushing and kicking one another.

"Nob?" She turned around, where she heard sobbing, when everyone left.

The little hobbit was sitting under one of the long tables, hugging his knees tightly, blood and tears streaming down his face. The woman went to him slowly; every step she took was a true agony. She used her last bit of energy to push the table that covered him.

"Let me help you." She said very softly, as if he was a little scared child, and held her hands for him to reach.

Two brown eyes found hers and Nob let go of his knees, taking her hands, tears still streaming down his white face. Minerva got him on his feet and motioned for him to sit down on a wooden chair nearby. He did as told and the woman got on her knees that their faces would be in the same level. Without words she wiped the tears from his cheeks very gently and smiled encouragingly.

"Don't worry I will heal you." She said and touched his wound with her fingertips lightly. "Does it hurt?"

"Yes, a little bit…" He said. "But you are hurt more than me."

The witch got a napkin from the floor and started wiping the blood from his face. "I think I am, but only I can heal you right now."

'Where is Gandalf?' She thought, throwing the cloth on the floor again. 'Didn't he hear the fight?'

Minerva leaned to his wound and whispered a spell, kissing his forehead softly, right where the cut was. When she looked at hobbit again, it was gone, no scar could be seen.

"Good as new." She smiled happily.

Nob laughed with joy and hugged the woman, who did the same. "Thank you." He whispered.

After a minute they let go of each other and the witch stood up. "Could you go and look for Gandalf?"

"Of course! I will tell him, that you're here." He smiled and jumped off the chair.

Minerva waited till he got up the stairs and then half sat down on the table, her legs giving up on standing. She looked around the room and sighted sadly. There were broken dishes and furniture everywhere, two men that attacked her, laid down on the ground unconscious, just like their leader who broke the table with his fall. But her eyes stopped at the man, who had a knife in his chest. He was lying dead against a wall, eyes wide in shock and the woman felt the guilt filling her. She didn't want to kill him.

Suddenly, before the witch could even react, a great force pushed her body on the table, making her lay on it. She tried to kick off the attacker, but failed, because he was holding her wrists tightly, while his body kept her against the surface. His hand found her wound on the stomach and he poked it with his fingers very hard, his nails digging through her bandages. Voice betrayed her and she could not even gasp or groan, the pain flooded her body in seconds, again. It paralyzed her and she could not move, even if she wanted.

The man, which was almost lying over Minerva, was one of those three, who mysteriously sat in the corner of the inn, tracking her every step. She could tell that from his black, with red inside, cloak. His face was very close to hers, his breath on her jaw, but she could not see it, because of the black, all face covering mask. The woman only saw his yellow shining eyes that somehow reminded her of her friend, Rolanda Hooch.

The pain increased with every second and it became very hard for her to breathe, even as his fingers left her wound. But it was gone quickly, as the witch felt a little sting on her neck. Her eyes widened, white circles appeared around her shrunken pupils, her hands started shaking. It seemed, like the whole world stopped, her look directed at the ceiling, the only thing that she could feel, was some kind of poison filling her veins. Her vision blurred down and she could almost see the man before her.

"Give me your locket." The man whispered and put his hand on her collarbone as if searching for something.

The woman almost did not hear what he said, but understood perfectly what he wants. "Ne…ver." She murmured weakly.

"Where is it?!" The man hissed angrily, his fingers coming around her neck.

He put more pressure and Minerva gasped for air, trying to raise her trembling hand, which was free from his grip. After a moment he let go of her neck and his hand came around her waist.

"I can't kill you right now…" He said. "But sooner or later _he_ will."

The masked man was about to lift her up, when he was torn by someone's strong arms. The woman could not see or hear anything clearly, still gasping for air, but she knew that they were fighting. Her hands stopped shaking, her body relaxed, Albus' voice the only thing she heard.

_"Minerva…"_ He whispered._ "Help me, please… You're the only hope I have…"_

_Green light and the highest tower of Hogwarts flew before her eyes like a distant present, tearing her soul into shreds, again and again. The last word of the great headmaster echoing in the deathly silence, while his limp body fell down under the black, full of bright stars sky._

Crystal tears fell down her white cheeks, but no sound left her mouth, as if she was afraid to disturb the silence, killing her from the inside.

_"Avada kedavra!"_ She heard Severus say the dark words coldly, again, and again, and again, as if it was not enough.

"Minerva!" Someone shouted in the distance, voice so painfully similar to Albus'.

The woman tried to focus her gaze, but failed, dead bodies of her friends and family flashing before her, making her want to put the end to all of this… To kill herself and leave this world, with all these burdens and losses weighting her down. She felt the needle being pulled out from her neck gently, and she sighted silently, her senses coming back to her very slowly, and the images in her head becoming more distant with every moment, that passes by. A warm hand was caressing her cheek softly, while a concerned voice called her name, giving her hope somehow. A hope to live.

The witch finally could focus her gaze and she did, seeing a dark silhouette of a bearded man looking at her from above, but she could not identify who he was. At first, she thought that he was Albus, but it was impossible, because even if she does not want to believe it, he was dead. Then, the woman focused her eyes on his ones and saw, that they were blue, with a little grey, like those that her fellow wizard had.

"Gandalf?" She asked weakly, her voice not louder than a whisper.

"Yes, it's me…" He said softly, his hand still stroking her cheek slowly.

"Where's Nob?" She asked hurriedly, her eyes shining with tears.

"He's alright, don't worry…" The wizard smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Been better…"

"I will help you."

The man put his arms under her knees and back, and lifted her up gently, hearing a groan of pain. Minerva's hand came around his neck, while the other one laid limp on her wound. Her eyes were on Gandalf the whole time, her vision still as bad as before, but she felt safe knowing that he was with her. He carried her to their room and laid her body on his big bed. A gasp of shock could be heard near them, followed by a silent cry.

"Is she going to be all right?" Nob, who was standing in the room with Butterbur, asked with a sob.

"She will. I promise you." Gandalf said and sat down on the edge of the bed with a sight. "Nob, could you get me some water, knife and a clean cloth?"

"Of course!" The hobbit cried out and ran out of the room as quickly as he could.

"I will take care of our guests." Barliman said and went out too, with a very serious looking face.

The wizard turned to the woman, his hand rose to her hair, stroking it very lightly. A green light flashed before her eyes again, but this time she saw Albus' body lying on the grass, after the long fall. His calm face expression made him look like he was sleeping, but his arms and legs were lying wide against his side. She heard deathly words again and again, covering the sound of Gandalf calling her name.

Minerva started crying once more, new tears streaming down her white as paper sheet face. Her eyes closed tiredly, not wanting to see anything that was flashing before her and felt the wizard wipe the drops away.

"Everything will be alright." He whispered and she opened her eyes.

"Will it?" She asked sadly and the man took her hand.

"Yes…It will." He smiled.

They looked at each other for a brief moment, but their glances turned to Nob, who ran through the door, carrying a white napkin, a glass bottle of water and a knife. The hobbit put everything on the ground, except for the cloth, which he handed to the wizard.

"Thank you." Gandalf said, lifting it to the face of the woman.

He slowly wiped the blood from her chin and jaw, then from her dark lips, and put the napkin down in his lap, picking up the water.

"Drink it." The wizard smiled and she picked the bottle from his arms and put it to her lips.

The woman sipped it gratefully, because her mouth felt dry, like never before and gave the bottle back to Gandalf. "Thank you." She said.

The man put it back on the ground and started looking for something in his brown old bag, while Minerva turned her head to look at Nob. He was sitting on one of the green armchairs, tears streaming down his face silently, his thoughtful look directed at the dying fire.

"This should help you." The wizard said, making her turn her head back.

He was holding a small vial full of blue liquid, which she almost saw before her. She took it from his welcoming hand and drank it all. When the tasteless drink flooded down her throat, she felt it freezing her whole body, her eyes losing the white circles and her sight became normal again. But after a minute, the cold disappeared, only a small part of it chilling her neck.

She was about to say something, when Gandalf's fingers rose to her face, pushing her head slightly, so he could see her collar. When he saw it, his eyes darkened, his fingertips touched the place where the needle was only minutes ago. Around the very small hole, light blue lines, like the roots of the three, were spreading, stopping only when they reached the beginning of her jaw. The wizard whispered something, that Minerva could not understand, but it did not help, leaving the lines where they were.

"What is it?" She asked, facing him again.

"The poison, that is in your blood… I do not have a permanent antidote for them. No one has." He mumbled with grieve.

"So I will die?" The woman whispered silently, so Nob could not hear her.

"I will not let that happen... There is a temporary antidote, but every time you will use it, the Freezing web will spread more and more on your body, until it finally reaches your heart… And if you do not use it, the poison will cause all your wounds bleed, pain will paralyze your body and hallucinations will control your mind… "

"You say, that I won't die, but everything that you just said, proves that you're lying!" Minerva lost her temper, interrupting his speech.

"You'll die?" Nob interrupted, jumping from his chair, his face wet from tears.

The woman closed her eyes and sighted sadly. "Come here, Nob." She said.

Gandalf sat silent, as he watched the little hobbit slowly go to the bed, where she was laying, and dropped on his knees. The witch sat up, gritting her teeth, because pain in her stomach was starting to renew. Her fingertips wiped away his tears and she smiled to him, making his brown eyes shine brighter.

"We just met, but as I can see, you care about me already… even getting the fact that we only know each others names." She said and Nob nodded sadly. "Everyone has to leave this world someday and it does not matter, you want it or not… You have a bright future before you… and you should not mourn anyone, even if it is very hard… you have to let it go."

"I can't…" He whispered, looking into her green eyes. "It's too hard."

"You know… Every time, when I felt sad, lonely or afraid… my dad sang me a song that always helped me to feel better. And even in the worst days of my life I felt alright…"

The room was silent for a moment, the only thing, that could be heard was Minerva's labored breathing. "Can you sing it for me?" The boy asked, looking pleadingly with his eyes.

Dead silence fell once more, until the woman took a deep breath of air. A second after, her silent voice filled the room, creating some kind of magic around them, making all of their worries forgotten; their mind clear again, as if the clouds of storm had passed and the sun was shining once again.

_Leaves from the vine_

_Falling so slow_

_Like fragile tiny shells_

_Drifting in the foam_

_Little soldier girl,_

_Come marching home_

_Brave soldier girl,_

_Come marching home_

_Those leaves did grow  
From branches overgrown  
Drifting slowly down  
Resting on the loam  
Little soldier girl  
Taken from her home  
Forced to fight a war  
That's not her own_

_Leaves from the vine_  
_Falling so slow_  
_Like fragile, tiny shells_  
_Washed upon the foam_  
_Little soldier girl says_  
_"Carry me home"_  
_Sleeping soldier girl_  
_Is carried home_

The witch sighted and turned her head to look at Nob. He was smiling through tears, his eyes shining happily and she could not help a little smile too.

"What is your favorite flower?" She asked after a minute.

The little hobbit thought for a moment and Minerva glanced at Gandalf, who was looking at them both thoughtfully, but his eyes were shining joyfully, like of the boy's.

"A water lily!" Nob exclaimed.

She turned to her head to face him again. "And what is your favorite color?"

"Yellow."

The woman looked at the wizard and picked up the bottle of water from the ground, both men tracking her actions. She whispered a spell and it turned into a glass bowl full of clear water, a small white lily floating in the center. She handed it to the boy and he smiled widely.

"If something happens to me, the flower will blossom in yellow and will be the most beautiful and amazing thing you ever saw… You won't have a reason to be sad, if I will not walk on this ground again, remembering, that this lily is the symbol of our eternal friendship." Minerva whispered with a little smile.

"Thank you." The hobbit laughed merrily, but yawned after a second.

"Now off to bed. I can see that you're very tired." She said, waving her hand.

Nob went out of the room with a sad smile on his face and the woman knew why. Nothing can take away the sadness of a loss of a dear person. She understood that after her father was killed, knowing that she could not cope another death right now.

"Lie down." Gandalf said, as the witch turned around to look at him again.

She did as told and laid her head on the soft pillow again, a silent moan escaping her lips. The man unbuttoned her shirt easily, so he could look at the bandage on her waist. It was, as expected, covered in dark blood. He picked up the knife from the ground and cut the bloody cloth in half, making the wound on the body of the woman visible.

Minerva watched the man intensely, as he wiped the liquid from her stomach away, but her eyelids became very heavy, making her close her eyes. The sleep came over her in a moment, before she could even ask if fellow wizard knew something about the reason why she was attacked tonight, or why they needed her locket. _Maybe a new day, will give her all of the answers she need._

* * *

Sun shone through the window, the beams of light pointed directly at Minerva's face and she couldn't do anything else, but open her eyes. She saw, that she was laying in the same bed, but her shirt were buttoned up, a warm blanked was on top of her and her black boots off from her legs, laying on the floor. Gandalf was not in the room, but the woman knew, that he was eating or talking with Butterbur in the main room of the inn.

The witch yawned loudly and got off the bed, looking around for her green cloak and backpack. They were on one of the green armchairs, neatly laying and waiting for the owner to pick them up. Her boots were near the fireplace and she went to them, slowly putting them on. She then went to the chair, where her stuff was, reaching for the cloak, but her hand stopped in the middle of the action, as her eyes stopped on a big mirror next to the fireplace, which definitely wasn't there yesterday.

Minerva went to it, not feeling as good as before, because poison started working again and looked at the view of herself. Her eyes had grey circles around them, as if she wasn't sleeping all week and actually, she felt like it. She was so tired of everything and now the poison, that is mixing together, is taking all of her energy. Her face was white as snow, but it was always like that, and she sometimes really wonder, if she's not a relative of Severus.

Then, the witch undid three buttons of her tartan shirt, to see the mark of the poison that Gandalf was talking about last night. On the left side of her neck, blue lines were glowing, about 20 centimeters to her heart. That meant that she could only take the antidote two times, before it kills her. And she will not do that, even if the pain and hallucinations will be unbearable. Her fingertips touched the root and she felt that they were over her skin, like a scar, not a tattoo. A silent sight escaped her lips and she jumped in alarm, as she heard a voice behind her.

"It doesn't look as bad as you think." Gandalf said, standing in the doorway and leaning on the frame. "This is like any other scar."

"I know… But this one can kill me." Minerva turned to look at him, buttoning her shirt up. "When are we leaving?" She questioned, changing the subject.

"After you eat your breakfast."

"I'm not hungry." The witch put on her cloak and then her backpack.

"We won't stop until late night, Minerva…"

"I am not hungry." She repeated, her eyes flashing dangerously.

The wizard furrowed his eyebrows. "We will not leave, until you eat."

"Fine…" She slowly walked past him, too tired to argue.

They went downstairs and the woman saw Butterbur sitting with Nob by the table, where the three mysterious men sat last night. They were eating and chatting merrily, but the mood of the witch was very low and she didn't even say anything, as she and her fellow wizard sat down before them. Butterbur looked very confused, while Nob pleaded with his sad eyes for her to say something. But she didn't. She just ate the food from her plate and waited for Gandalf to finish his meal.

"Are you alright?" The hobbit asked worriedly.

"I am." She smiled with a tiniest of her smiles, but no one was convinced, because she looked like a walking ghost.

Everyone finished their food in silence and the first one to stand up was the wizard, who went to get Shadowfax. After a minute, Minerva did the same, Barliman and the boy following her lead. They all went outside, where the woman looked even paler, if that was even possible, because of the bright sun. They were silent, until she felt her arm sleeve being tugged down softly by Nob, who was looking very sad.

The witch got on one knee and smiled a little bit. "What is it?" She asked softly.

"Will we meet again?" He whispered, his glance directed at the ground.

Her fingers forced his jaw up, so he would look her in the eyes. "I don't know all of the things that the fate has got ready for me… But remember that I will always be with you. In here…" She pointed at the place on his chest, where his heart was beating.

The little hobbit smiled sadly and hugged her and the woman did the same, a lonely tear rolled down her white cheek, which she wiped away after they parted.

"Goodbye, Nob." She whispered.

"Goodbye." He said and Minerva stood up, seeing Gandalf riding in the distance.

"Farewell, Barliman Butterbur." She bowed her head, as a white horse stopped next to her.

The man bowed his head in return and the witch got on the horse with the help of the grey wizard.

"So long, my friends. I hope that we will meet again and if we will… I hope that the meeting will be lighter." He said and with a last few glances between all of them, Shadowfax turned around and they continued their journey to Rivendell.

* * *

They rode all day through fields and forest, until the moon was up in the sky, making Minerva sleepy. The two of them stopped at the end of the dark forest, going to sleep right after they ate, the woman forgetting to ask the wizard about what happened yesterday, because of the lack of sleep.

The couple got up very early in the morning and was on the road once more, the witch feeling worse and worse with every few hours that passed. She had a few hallucinations, but suffered through them, even when the pain came after and did not use the antidote. For this night, they stopped at the place full of ruins that Gandalf called the Weathertop.

Minerva could not see everything around because of darkness surrounding them, but her eyes spotted grey walls, or what was left of them, which belonged to the magnificent building, where people lived hundreds of years ago. Tall brown trees were growing further away, creating a ring around the ruins. It was a perfect place to spend a night.

The wizard ignited a small bonfire and the woman laid down on the ground near it, her back to one of the walls. Gandalf sat next to her and sighted.

"Do you want to talk about the night in the inn?" He asked.

She was silent for a minute, but then looked him in the eye. "Why did they need my locket?"

"Your what?" He shifted in his place.

"This." Her hand went on her neck and she whispered a spell, making something appear around it.

She took it off and showed to the man, who gasped silently, shock appearing in his eyes. In the palm of her hand, an emerald green round locket laid, chain made of pure gold, a black M shining in the middle of it.

"What is it?" She questioned quickly, noticing how the expression on his face changed in seconds.

"I know why they attacked you… It's because this locket is the sign, that-" He started, but he fell silent as they both heard a rumbling of hooves of the horse in the distance. "Hide it." He said, bending her fingers gently and looking into her eyes. "Stay here, while I go and look around. If anything is wrong, call me." He stood up and picked up his staff with his sword.

With one last glance, he left and Minerva put out the fire, picking up her wand from the pocket of her cloak. No sound was heard in the silence for ten minutes, until she heard the rumbling again, but this time so near, that she could see dark figures on horses riding her way. In this darkness, they looked like dementors, freezing everything around; hissing could be heard coming from under their hoods.

"Gandalf!" She called loudly, when the horses were almost face to face with her.

One of the riders raised the sword that he had in his hand, ready to hit and the woman raised her wand in return. She started a spell, but before she could finish it, her fellow wizard jumped before her, facing the attackers with his sword and wooden staff.

"Use fire, Minerva!" He said, his sword trying to hit one of the horses.

Three figures jumped from their horses and attacked the man, they all moved further away from the witch leaving her to fight with the last of the riders. She was very tired, but when she saw how Gandalf fought to save her, energy flooded her body. Her hands got on flame, matching the staff of the wizard, which he light up a minute ago. The horse flew backward, afraid to go further to the fire and the rider turned the horse around, running back to the forest, where he came from.

The woman turned to look at the man, who was fighting three of them and just in time. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw, that one of the figures stabbed him in the chest, causing him to fall down to his knees, the deathly sword turning into ashes. Rage possessed her and the flames in her palms turned into sharp peaces of ice. She threw them with all the power she had, hitting the three horses, so the creatures could not escape. A big ring of fire appeared around the hurt wizard, as her fingertips pointed at his laying figure. The black things screeched loudly and disappeared in the darkness of the night.

The bright flames disappeared and Minerva ran to the wizard, falling on her knees beside him. His eyes were closed; his robes were soaked in blood.

"Gandalf?" She whispered, her fingertips running through his silver hair, a tear rolled down her cheek.

He slowly opened his eyes, which were bright blue by now. "You're alright…" He whispered with a small smile.

"I will help you. Just… hold on. Don't leave me right now."

He chuckled silently. "I don't intend to."

The witch unbuckled sheath from his waist, where she put his sword in and threw it away, taking the bag off too. She undressed him, so she could see his wound and put the robe under his head. He was left only with his trousers and black boots, because he gave his undershirt to Minerva. His chest was very muscular for an old man, the woman noticed, but was covered in dark blood. The cut was about two centimeters from his heart, which she thanked Merlin for. She took off her cloak and then, her tartan shirt, so she would only be with a black tank top that she transfigured when they were in the woods last night.

"Hang on…" She said, as she noticed his breathing so painfully slowing down.

She wiped the blood away with her shirt, because she could not see the beginning of the wound. When she finally saw it, her eyes locked on the thing that was inside. It was a small peace of the blade, which turned into dust when it hit the wizard. She slowly pulled it out, hearing all kind of mixed groans, moans and whispers which she did not understand. She put it in the pocket of her pants and searched for a spell in her mind that could stop the bleeding. She whispered something after a minute and the blood stopped flowing from his wound, making the woman sigh peacefully.

"I will get you to Rivendell… The elves will help you." Minerva looked into his light blue eyes.

Gandalf smiled a little and the woman pulled out her wand, cleaning her tartan shirt and transfiguring them into special bandages that won't let the wound bleed. She bandaged his chest carefully, trying to not put too much pressure on it. When she finished, she transfigured his grey robes into a warm coat, with fur inside, so he wouldn't get cold and she could check on him easier. The woman lifted his back from the ground and put it on, buttoning to the top.

The witch got on her legs quickly and ran to the place where the bonfire was burning minutes ago, leaving the man alone. She picked up his hat and put it in the backpack, which laid nearby, his silver scarf found place on her neck, covering half of her face. The woman put the pack on her back and went to the wizard, picking up his staff and holding it firmly in her hand. The other arm entwined around Gandalf's waist and pulled him up, so he could stand on his legs. She summoned his brown bag and threw it over her shoulder; she put his sheath of sword around her waist, under her cloak. His fingers gripped Minerva's lower arm and she helped him to walk to the horse, who was called by her a moment before. They both settled on Shadowfax, this time she sat in the back, her arm around the waist of the now unconscious man and they were on the road again.

_Author's note: The song that Minerva sang is from Atla and is called __"Leaves from the Vine". I hope you enjoy this chapter! ^^_

_To be continued..._


	5. The Council of Elrond

_Disclaimer: I own everything but the plot. Sadly, it's the other way around._

_Warning: I changed some of the events in LotR books._

"_Even in the darkness"_

_Chapter 5_

_The Council of Elrond_

Minerva and Gandalf rode a week to the Rivendell, because she wanted to help the wizard as quickly as possible. She only stopped in the middle of night for 2-5 hours, which depended from the condition the man was in. Her eyes barely shut down in all this week, food almost did not touch her mouth, unlike Gandalf's, to whom she gave all of it. She only drank water, so her mouth would not feel so dry and empty.

The hallucinations became very strong, sometimes she could even see Voldemort standing in the place where some tree was suppose to be, or Albus laying dead on the ground. But she still did not stop even for a moment, trying to push the images out of her head. The pain was a true agony, her body burning like never before, spasms extending from two hours to whole day, not letting her to see the way they were riding sometimes. But she did not care about herself at that moment, the only thought in her head was, that Gandalf was dying.

She checked on his wound every time they stopped, assuring that it was not bleeding and feeding him with the food they had. He still looked as pale as before, maybe even paler, his eyes becoming whiter and whiter with every day that passed. When their journey to Rivendell was coming to an end, only two days to ride left, the wizard could barely recognize her, his mind wandering somewhere far away.

When the last day came and they were so near to their destination, all of the energy left Minerva's body, pain taking over her and she stopped the horse near a lonely green tree. The darkness was taking her body, but then she heard Gandalf whisper her name silently, which meant that he had his hallucinations about her. Light flooded through the witch, power overcame her mind and Shadowfax started running once more, but faster than ever, as if he got part of her pure energy too.

They finally did reach Rivendell, the beautiful waterfalls and white walls of tall buildings could be seen in the distance, when the moon was already high in the sky. The woman put on the hood on her head, because it started raining, did the same for the wizard and covered her mouth with his silver scarf once again, autumn cold freezing her body. The horse ran as fast as it could and after a minute they stopped before the big stairs of the home of the elves.

Minerva jumped from the horse and got the unconscious wizard from it, too, gritting her teeth from pain that flooded her body once again. Gandalf could not move by himself and there was no one around for them to help, so she had to take him up by herself. The witch took the wooden staff in one hand and hoisted the man on one of her shoulders, his head lying on her back, when the sudden power hit her again. She started walking, the horse following her behind, but when they reached the start of the stairs, it stopped, turned around and flew back were it came from.

The man was not one of the lightest people, his weigh keeping her back from going faster. Her wounded leg was burning and she almost hopped on the fine one, but she still got him up the stairs, leaning on his staff. The stick pushed the doors open and they were greeted with a chorus of gasps, six elves looking at them in shock.

"I need help." She said, her voice disturbing the silence that surrounded them for a second.

One of them said something in the language, she did not understand, and then two elves went to her, taking the wizard from her shoulder. They carried him somewhere and Minerva followed, not wanting to leave him, water dripping on the floor from her cloak. They went into a light room, with a white bed, where they laid his body down. The woman sat on the chair nearby, the pain in her leg killing her from inside. She looked at Gandalf for a moment and the elves checking his wound; until the very long waited sleep claimed her, making her forget everything for a few hours.

* * *

Minerva woke up, when the sun shone high in the sky, making her groan and put a pillow on her face, so the sun beams wouldn't blind her anymore. She closed her eyes again, but then quickly opened them, as she remembered Gandalf. The woman jumped from the bed she was lying in, not even noticing, that last night she fell asleep on a chair and now she's in other room. She put on her black boots that were near her bed and ran out of the door.

"Accio wand!" She said, running down the hall, elves of Rivendell looking at her strangely.

The wooden stick flew into her hand and she opened the doors of one of the rooms, as if sensing that he was there. She saw him lying unconscious on the bed, his face not as white as before, his chest and shoulder bandaged in white; he had no robe on, only a white blanket.

"He should be awake in a few days." Someone said, causing Minerva to jump, her wand pointed at the stranger in seconds.

It was a beautiful elf, who looked ageless, neither old nor young, though in it was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful. His hair was dark as the shadows of twilight, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of stars. He was sitting on the chair, were she fell asleep last night, with a kind smile on his face. "I mean no harm." He said.

"Who are you?" The witch asked, lowering her wand again and putting it into her pocket.

"I am Lord Elrond." He bowed his head standing up from the chair. "And your name?"

"Minerva McGonagall." She bowed her head a little in return.

* * *

The next three days the witch spent in the biggest library of Rivendell, reading about the Ringwraiths, that lord Elrond told her about, trying to find anything about their swords, or something, that might help Gandalf.

After two long days of searching, she found a thick book about Nazgûl, the black riders of Sauron. The witch carried it to the room of the wizard and sat down on an armchair, before window that the moon shone through. She felt very tired, her wounds hurt stronger and stronger with every day, hallucinations attacking her once again. She did not want any food, even though the elves carried trays with it every day. But they were carried them back full, nothing touched, except for the glass of water. The only thought in her head – she had to help Gandalf, like he helped her.

Minerva opened the book and found a page about Morgul blades, which were the ones that hit the wizard, and started reading.

_Morgul__**-**__blades__, also known as "Morgul-knives", are __magical__ and poisonous daggers that were used by __Ringwraiths__ in __Middle-earth__ during the __Third__Age__. After it tastes flesh, the dagger breaks, leaving the shard of the blade in its victim. The remaining blade soon turns to dust, and the shard works its way through the body to the heart. If the shard of the blade stays in the victim for too long the victim becomes a __wraith__._

Then she remembered that she pulled out something from his wound that was very sharp, which had to be the blade of the dagger. She pulled it out of her pocket and quickly noticed, that one piece of it was missing, but then remembered Elrond telling her that he removed it, and yawned silently. The blade found its place in her pants again, while she still read the book, until her eyes closed and she drifted into deep sleep.

* * *

Gandalf opened his eyes slowly, his eyes adjusting to the moonlight that shone in the room. He sat up quickly, remembering Minerva, the one he was responsible for, only to feel pain in his chest. He looked down and saw that he was without his robes, only with his grey trousers, half of his upper body covered in bandages along with one of his shoulders.

'_She did it. I'm in Rivendell._' The wizard thought with a smile.

After a moment his glance was wandering around the room, until his greyish eyes locked on a lean form sitting on an armchair. He could tell that it was the witch, who helped him, from the raven black locks falling on her shoulders. She was sleeping, a book in her lap, but strange whispers that the man could not understand left her mouth, as if she was having a nightmare.

Gandalf got out of the bed, not as quickly as always, because of the new wound, and went to her, with a need to see her face again. When he saw it, shivers ran down his spine, from the shocking sight that greeted him. The woman looked very tired; her eyes had dark circles around them, her face was pale as ghosts, no colour on her cheeks. He dropped on his knees and touched her skin with his fingertips. She was cold as ice, as if she was lying in snow on the coldest night of winter. When he shook her by shoulders, her eyes did not open; she only whispered something again.

He called her name a few times, while his fingers traced her face line, but she did not react. Then, the man scooped her into her his arms and carried out of the room, the book falling down on the ground. His only destination was to show her to Elrond, who should help her.

The wizard held her in his arms, his body freezing from the coldness she radiated from herself, even the ground felt warmer for his bare feet. His eyes saw two elves, who were on patrol this night, walking in the corridors.

"Where is Lord Elrond?" He asked quickly, his face shone with worry.

One of them waved his hand toward the white door, not very far away. "_Ennas_." He said in elvish.

With a bow of his head he flew to where the elf showed and knocked on the door a few times, until they were wide open, the Lord of Rivendell looking at Gandalf in shock.

"_Mithrandir?_" He asked, looking at the familiar woman in his arms.

"She is dying, Elrond. I ask your help, to save her life."

He let them in without another word, closing the door behind him. The wizard laid her down on the big white bed and the elf kneeled beside her, so they could be face to face.

"Poison has filled her blood, mixing together. If I will not be able to get one of them out, there will be no hope for her to live." He said, his hand tracing the blue lines on her neck.

"She was hit by a dagger infected with snake's poison, which should be easier to get out, than the freezing toxin." Gandalf said, pacing around the room.

"I can only try." He whispered. "She fought them for a long time, longer that possible… She was supposed to be dead by now."

"It is my fault, Elrond… I was the one who had to take her to Rivendell, but it happened the other way around."

"There is still a little hope, but if I move the poison in her body, she will suffer greatly, which is the reason why she was in pain before. And if she will endure… or survive, she might live, but I think, that her body is too weak by now."

The wizard stopped pacing and was silent for a moment, thinking seriously, with a sad face. "The only way to save her… is to try." He whispered.

"Hand me the green book from the shelf, then."

Gandalf quickly did as told and Elrond started spreading the pages, until he found the right one. His hand stopped on the place where her heart was and he started reading from the book in ancient language, which even the wizard could not understand.

After a minute Minerva's body stirred and she whispered something, her face shadowed with pain. The old man looked at her from above, with sorrow and pain in his greyish eyes, gasping, when the woman opened her, now all white, eyes in shock, gasping for air. Elrond started reading words louder, so he could be heard through groans and whispers that left her mouth in suffer, his arm holding her tighter. Her eyes were directed at the white ceiling, looking into the distance, showing that she was not conscious yet. The witch tried to free herself from under the hand of the elf, which held her in place, not letting her to stop the spell.

"No!" She screamed and closed her eyes in defense, trying to cover her face with her arms as if with a shield. After a minute, that seemed like an eternity for Gandalf, her hands slowly dropped on the bed in defeat, her body relaxed and her head dropped to her side. Elrond's last cut off words still echoed in the room, while his fingers left her chest and he stood up slowly, trying to not to look at the wizard. And when he finally glanced at him, he saw the bearded man looking at her in shock as if he did not understand what happened. In seconds he was sitting by her side, holding her freezing body to his chest, his hand in her hair, slowly stroking them.

"I am sorry, _Mithrandir_…" The lord said, but was cut off by the man.

"She is… alive. I can feel the air in her lugs and… and her beating heart." Gandalf whispered, the energy in his eyes renewing.

Elrond was about to say something, when the woman took a deep breath of air and started coughing on something. Light green liquid spilled from her mouth and down her jaw, which was the poison that tried to kill her so many times. She was finally freed from them.

"Minerva?" The bearded man called, as she was now lying in his bear arms.

The woman did not respond, breathing still, her chest raising and falling rhythmically. After a moment he gently wiped the poison away from her face and smiled sadly.

"She is very strong." The lord said. "Even stronger than you, or any elf that lives here."

"I know."

Elrond was silent for a moment. "But it is still not clear if she will live, because the other poison is still freezing her body… And if she does, she will have to recover."

"I will help her… She was the one who helped me."

The dark haired elf sat down on a chair nearby and put the green book in his lap. Gandalf played with a black strand of Minerva's hair, his gaze focused on her closed eyes.

"Her body is very weak, because she did not eat anything and the poison wearied her…" The young man said and the wizard sighted silently. "Why was she with you?"

"She is… she is _the one_, Elrond." The other man whispered in response.

* * *

_A black haired woman was running in a dark forest, between tall trees and black flowers, while snow was slowly falling from above. Emerald green robes were billowing behind her, her eyes, of the same colour, were shining with fear, voices ringing in her head._

"_Gandalf!" She called again and again, until her throat froze in the cold of winter._

_She ran even faster, trying to find the one she was calling, before anything happened, when suddenly, something entwined around her leg and she fell down on the ground, hitting her back hard against the white earth. She pulled out her wand as quickly as she could, but then felt someone step on her arm, and with a hiss of pain she saw white faced figure above her, with snake like eyes. He descended onto her, holding her free wrist with his hand, and pulled out a knife._

"_No!" The woman screamed as the knife was in her chest._

"No!" The woman jumped straight in bed, her hand on her chest, cold sweat running down her face.

"Calm down, Minerva…" Someone whispered softly, sitting up next to her and his hand entwined around her waist. "It is just a nightmare."

"Gandalf?" She asked, the man laying them both on the bed again, her head to his chest.

"Yes, Minerva… It's me." He said, stroking her hair gently, so she would calm down. "Everything is alright… You are safe now."

"You're awake…" She whispered.

"I will tell you everything in the morning. You must rest now."

The woman did not ask why he was sleeping in her bed, or when he healed and woke up, because she did not want to know that yet, a new morning shall give her all the answers she need.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall opened her eyes once again, but only to see sun shining out of the window, not the silver moon. She now saw, that she was in Gandalf's room, where he laid for the past week, fighting for his life. The room was empty, the wizard was not by her side like last night, and she was beginning to think, that that was just a dream.

She sat up slowly, pain taking over her muscles after every small movement she made. Her eyes closed and with a sight she lowered her legs on the ground, so she could get out of the bed. The witch saw, that she was wearing emerald green silk boxers with the same black tank top, she transfigured. She felt very strange, because she always wore a nightgown when she went to bed, and now she was with some kind of shorts.

And then she remembered that she had these in her wardrobe, at Hogwarts. Her friend, the adventurous Rolanda Hooch, gave her the exact same shorts as a gift for her birthday, but she never wore them, though. She only kept them as a memory of the party that her friends surprised her with, even when she told them a hundred times that she did not want to celebrate. But how did anyone know about them?

Minerva pushed all the thoughts aside and decided to go to the balcony that was very near, to get some fresh air. She slowly stood up, trying not to fall, because her legs felt very weak, as the rest of the body, and tried to take a step. It hurt badly and she almost ended up on the floor, but a grip of the table nearby helped her.

'_This will be hard._" She thought sadly.

The other steps were as painful as the first one, but with the help of furniture she finally reached doors of the balcony. Her white hands pushed them wide open and cool autumn breeze hit her, shivers running down her body. She took a few steps forward and gripped handrails, so she would not fall over once again.

Birds could be heard chirping in the distance, but a sad sight escaped her lips, and she closed her eyes, the awful thoughts coming back into her head.

"What heavies your heart so much in this beautiful morning?" Gandalf's voice rang in the room, causing Minerva to turn around quickly.

She did not rate her power and her legs gave up, causing her to fall down on all fours, with a gasp of shock.

"Minerva!" The wizard flew to her, lifting her back on her feet. "Are you all right?" He asked.

"I am." She said as they were now standing one before another, his arms around her waist keeping her in place.

Suddenly, the man hugged her tightly and rested his head on hers, sighting peacefully. "Thank you, my lady, for saving me and putting me before yourself… But that was very foolish of you."

"I know." She hugged him back, her face buried in his grey beard. "But I am still alive…and so are you. Or are we both dead?"

Gandalf laughed merrily and let go of her, a smile on his old face. "I can reassure you, that we are truly not."

"That's a… relief."

"Let's go, I got you breakfast." He chuckled and entwined his hand around her waist once again, to help her to go back to the room.

Minerva smiled a little bit, as they started walking, and slowly, but steady they reached the bed, where the wizard helped her to lay down once again. "Why am I wearing these boxers?" She asked, demanding an answer.

"I thought you would like them." He said, sitting down on the edge of the bed with a tray of food. "Even if you just kept them in your closet."

"How did you know?" She asked puzzled.

"I have my ways." He chuckled. "But I did not need them, because you talk in your sleep."

"I talk in my sleep?"

"Hallucinations it might be, but I heard a lot about you." He handed her a glass of orange juice.

The witch thought in silence for a moment, a small spark of fear crossing her mind. "And what exactly?"

"That you lost almost everyone you love."

"I did." She whispered and sipped her drink.

"I am sorry for your loss." Gandalf murmured and squeezed her free hand. "I know how hard it is to talk about it."

Minerva nodded and began eating the food he gave her. "Do you know someone named _Mithrandir_?"

"That is my name… But how do you know it?"

"I heard it in my dream. A horrible dream."

"I do not think it was a dream… It happened in reality."

"So the pain was real?" She asked.

"It was." He said.

"But what happened?"

The wizard told her everything from the beginning, when he woke up, till the end, when he carried her to his room again, not mentioning that one sentence, that he told Elrond.

"So he managed to get out the poison of the dagger… But what about the other?" She asked, putting the empty plate back on the tray.

"He knew nothing about them, or how to get them out, but I will find a way, before anything happens… And until then, you will have to sleep with me, to raise your body temperature, because the poison freezes you from inside."

"That's why when I got up you were with me."

"Yes… And you should know that I will always be there for you."

"I hope so." She smiled and yawned. "How long was I asleep?"

"Six days."

"That long? What time is it?"

"It is still very early, but you have to dress up."

"Why?" Minerva asked. "Are we going somewhere?"

"I am going to _the council of Elrond _and you are coming with me, because we need you there."

"Why should anyone need me there?"

"You are more important than you think, Minerva." He whispered, stroking her hair and making her smile.

She looked deep into his greyish eyes and felt safer than ever before, as if knowing that he will always help her, no matter what. They looked at each other lingering for a moment, but then Gandalf's hand dropped back into his lap and he stood up, the tray in his hands. He put it on the table near them and picked up a pile of neatly folded clothes.

"These are for you." He handed them to her and picked the tray again. "You can get ready, while I go and get something I need. I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you." She said and the wizard left the room with a smile.

The woman sat still for a moment, thinking about everything, but then sighted and once gain lowered her legs on the ground. She looked at the new clothes and smiled: there was green tartan shirt, made from soft silk, black new pants and a cloak of the same colour, with white fur on the hood. The same dark black boots of her, were laying under the table, on which a wooden comb found a place. She dressed up, still sitting on the bed, but did not put on the cloak, and then combed her dark hair gently, putting them into a loose bun with an emerald green pin that was on the table.

"You're ready, I see." Gandalf came through the door behind her.

"I am." She turned to look at him. "Have you seen my wand?"

"I have it with me, don't worry." He smiled and went to her, his old staff in one hand and a black long stick in another.

He helped her to stand up, putting both staffs leaning on the bed and picked up the cloak from it. He put it on her and buckled the top, smile playing on his lips.

"I think you are ready for winter!" The wizard chuckled.

Minerva laughed merrily. "I think so." She smiled.

"Here is your wand." He handed her the small wooden stick that she put in her pocket, and picked up the black staff. "And this is for you. The elves of Rivendell made it, by the request of Lord Elrond."

The man gave it to her and she wrapped her fingers around it. It was not as big as Gandalf's staff and not as long, but it was so beautiful that the woman could not get her eyes from it. It had emerald green ornaments, like roots of a flower in the middle, which were popped up from the rest, the both ends of the stick were plain black, matching her hair.

"It will help you to walk… or fight. It is your choice." He smiled, making Minerva do the same. "But I will help you too, of course."

"Thank you." She said and the wizard picked up his own staff from the bed.

"Let's go. Everyone is waiting."

The witch put the stick on the ground and leaned on it, trying to walk. It was hard to take a step, but the staff helped her, taking half of the pressure. She started walking, gripping it tighter, to make it easier. Gandalf watched her intently and when they were out of the room, he closed the door and linked his arm with hers, carrying his staff in the other.

They walked through the hall and then outside, where Minerva saw a group of old and young men sitting on chairs in a large circle, around a small pedestal. They all turned to look at the couple, but the woman saw only one familiar face, which belonged to lord Elrond. The wizard led her to a seat next to an elf, who she did not know, while he sat next to her, a hobbit to Elrond's right, was by his side.

"We are all here and can start our meeting." The elf said.

And then all the talking began, first about dwarf kingdom and how they got an offer from Sauron, then the whole story of how the ring came to be and was lost in time. The woman now knew the names of half of the guests: Aragorn, the heir of Isildur, dwarfs Gimli and Gloin, hobbits Frodo, who carried the ring to Rivendell, and Bilbo, who found it, Legolas, elf from Mirkwood, and Boromir, the man from the South. They were all very important here, she noticed, because everyone had something to tell.

"Bring the ring, Frodo!" Gandalf said solemnly and Minerva began listening more carefully, her gaze lifting from the ground.

The little hobbit stood up and slowly went to the pedestal and put something golden on it. It was _the one ring_, she understood, because the majority of guests gasped in shock. The boy went back to his place and sat down, looking somewhat strange.

"Behold Isildur's Bane!" said Elrond.

Her ears did not listen anymore, her eyes were fixed on that little ring, that made her feel very strange, as if danger was very near. The story of how Bilbo found the ring and met Gollum almost reached her, but she heard the most important part, when they met in a cave. Then her thoughts wandered somewhere far away again, until she heard the following words and almost jumped out of her chair in alarm.

_Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul,  
Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul._

Gandalf was the one who said them, his voice sounding like a thunder and disturbing the peace that surrounded them all.

"Never before has any voice dared to utter the words of that tongue in Imladris, Gandalf the Grey." Said Elrond, as everyone took a long awaited breath of air.

"And let us hope that none will ever speak it here again." The wizard answered. "Nonetheless I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond. For if that tongue is not soon to be heard in every corner of the West, then let all put doubt aside that this thing is indeed what the Wise have declared: the treasure of the Enemy, fraught with all his malice; and in it lies a great part of his strength of old. Out of the Black Years come the words that the Smiths of Eregion heard, and knew that they had been betrayed:

_One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,  
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."_

The next words he said melted in the air before it reached her and she sat very uncomfortably, as if the words in black speech had affected her greatly.

"Are you all right, Minerva?" The wizard whispered after a few minutes, when he noticed her strange behavior.

"Yes… Yes, I am all right." She blinked a few times and smiled to him, as if trying to forget something.

"Tell me if anything is wrong."

The woman nodded and started listening to the story about Gollum that Aragorn told, with a help of her fellow wizard. And then, Gandalf told everyone about Saruman's betrayal, that she had not heard about. He told that he has met Radagast the Brown, who told him to go to Isengard, the place where the white wizard lives. And when he got there, Saruman gave him two options: to join Sauron and tell everything about the ring, or to tell everything in tortures. He, of course did not agree on any of options and fought the white wizard, only to loose and be trapped in Orthanc that he only escaped only after a month, with a help of eagle Gwaihir.

"This is grievous news concerning Saruman." Elrond said, disturbing the silence that surrounded them after Gandalf finished his speech.

Minerva closed her eyes and drowned in thoughts about Saruman and the one ring that was laying so near her.

'_He betrayed you… He is the enemy… Your enemy!_' Someone whispered in her head and she quickly opened her eyes, turning her head to look at the wizard by her side.

"…But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing, and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the One. It would be better if the Three had never been…" She heard Elrond speak, but did not listen to the words he said. _That was a very big mistake._

She looked around to find, who whispered those words, but everything was forgotten, when she heard Boromir talk.

"And if we fail to destroy the ring?" He asked suddenly. "Where is the warrior from the prophecy?"

"All of the proofs show that he is sitting among us." Elrond said and everyone gasped, looking around, trying to find him with their eyes.

"He will save us!" Gimli jumped in joy. "He will be the one, who will defeat him!"

The others started discussing a prophecy that the woman knew nothing about, merry laugh could be heard ringing near her. She turned to ask Gandalf what is happening, but the moment she did it, she heard her name.

"Minerva McGonagall." Elrond said and everyone fell silent.

The woman stifled a gasp and turned to look at him. "Yes?" She asked.

"Do you know, why are you here, in this council?"

"No." She answered honestly, fear taking over her.

"Then you shall hear this." He said.

_The wizard with a marble, of the emerald stone_

_Black poison of evil filling his body alone_

_Many can kill him, but only one shall_

_When the power of phoenix in him will arise_

_Which will happen when two worlds will collapse_

_In the darkest moment of his and everyone's lives_

_But no magic can help him in the battle for life_

_Because the one who shall fight him has the help of the knife_

_The one ring in his fingers will leave a dark mark_

_That will be the proof that he is the one who shall fight_

_And when the time comes he will turn into knight_

_Who shall kill the dark lord which will again rise_

_A mighty army of stone he will wake from a slumber_

_And only they can help him to make the ground thunder_

_He will lead them to fight with enemy, not under_

_And save the ones he loves with a small number_

_A dark spell he is under that will help him survive_

_Before he gets the power that shall help him to fight_

_But when the dark throne calls him and overwhelms his mind_

_No one can stay safe, or run, or hide_

When he finished, everyone turned to look at her with surprised faces, except for Gandalf, who looked at her in sadness. "She is _the one_." The elf said.

"She?!" Boromir jumped from his seat, causing everyone start arguing, before the shock she experienced even began to wear off.

"Silence!" The grey wizard stood up and everyone shut their mouth, scared of his now ice cold voice. "Half of the poem shows, that she is _the one_."

"But she is not a man!" One of the dwarves said.

"I can see that myself, master Gloin." Gandalf stated. "Not every prophecy that says 'he' talks about man."

"What are the proofs then?" Aragorn asked.

"She is a _witch_ from _another world_, not from Middle-earth. And she is under a _dark spell_ that gives her the power to take your life away in one movement, before you can even draw your weapons out. So, I would not make her angry!"

"Minerva, do you have a necklace?" Elrond asked, after the wizard sat down once again and cooled down.

"You mean this?" She showed the same _green marble_ that she showed to her fellow wizard, and everyone gasped once again.

"This is another proof." Elrond said. "But the only way to know is for her to pick up the ring. If nothing happens, we will continue our search."

From the beginning, when her name was mentioned, she felt like in trance, not available to think clearly, and now she has to prove something. And if she really is _the one_? Will she be able to kill the dark lord that she knows almost nothing about?

Like in a dream the woman stood up, her body hurting even more, and started walking, leaning on her new staff. She stopped before the pedestal and closed her eyes, everyone watching her and holding their breath. She opened them again and sighted silently, as if she was ready to welcome her destiny with wide open hands. Her fingers slowly reached for the ring, as if trying to overcome some kind of fear that was eating her from inside.

She took it into her hand and squeezed tightly, praying for Merlin that she would not be _the one_. After a moment everyone exhaled at the same moment, ascertained that she is not their saver, Gandalf sighting peacefully. But then Minerva felt something burning on her right hand slightly, right under the bandage that the long cut was under. She gasped and dropped the ring back on the pedestal, gripped her hand in the unbearable pain and flew backward, her black stick hitting the ground, along with her. Half of the guest jumped from their seats, looking at her intently, while the wizard ran by her side and rolled up the sleeve of her right hand. The bandage was drained in blood, drops of it rolling down her palm. The woman gritted her teeth, the burning sensation still lingering on her wrist, while the wizard unwrapped the soaked cloth and dropped it on the ground. He wiped her arm with a napkin that he had in his bag, and everyone saw the three letters, cut deep into the skin of her arm.

"_Eru_." Gandalf whispered. "_The one."_

Next to them was the great big eye, and the only one who has seen it, was Frodo, the ring bearer. "The eye of Sauron!" He exclaimed.

"Indeed." Elrond said. "Now we know that she is truly _the one_."

"Come now, I will help you." Gandalf smiled to her, but his expression was one of a saddest in this group.

He got her up and picked up her staff, leading her back to her seat. She sat down with heavy heart, thinking of everything that just happened. She will have to save another world… Maybe that's how Harry felt, when he was told that he will have to defeat Voldemort.

She sighted sadly, but her head shot up as she felt Gandalf's fingers wrap around her wounded hand, brushing it lightly. The woman looked at him and as if he felt her gaze, his eyes turn to her and found her emerald ones. He looked right into her heart, sending shivers down her spine, but his gaze fell, as lord Elrond spoke once again.

"This woman is destined to defeat Sauron, if she chooses to and if Sauron gets his ring back… But we still have to do everything, for that to not happen." He said. "And we return once more to the destroying of the Ring."

Everyone fell silent for a moment, every gaze directed at the ground.

"Very well, very well, Master Elrond!" said Bilbo suddenly. "Say no more! It is plain enough what you are pointing at. Bilbo the silly hobbit started this affair, and Bilbo had better finish it, or himself. I was very comfortable here, and getting on with my book. If you want to know, I am just writing an ending for it. I had thought of putting: 'and he lived happily ever afterwards to the end of his days'. It is a good ending, and none the worse for having been used before. Now I shall have to alter that: it does not look like coming true; and anyway there will evidently have to be several more chapters, if I live to write them. It is a frightful nuisance. When ought I to start?"

"Of course, my dear Bilbo," said Gandalf. "If you had really started this affair, you might be expected to finish it. But you know well enough now that 'starting' is too great a claim for any, and that only a small part is played in great deeds by any hero. You need not bow! Though the word was meant, and we do not doubt that under jest you are making a valiant offer. But one beyond your strength, Bilbo. You cannot take this thing back. It has passed on. If you need my advice any longer, I should say that your part is ended, unless as a recorder. Finish your book, and leave the ending unaltered! There is still hope for it. But get ready to write a sequel, when they come back."

Bilbo laughed. "I have never known you give me pleasant advice before." He said. "As all your unpleasant advice has been good, I wonder if this advice is not bad. Still, I don't suppose I have the strength or luck left to deal with the Ring. It has grown, and I have not. But tell me: what do you mean by 'they'?"

"The messengers who are sent with the Ring."

"Exactly! And who are they to be? That seems to me what this Council has to decide, and all that it has to decide. Elves may thrive on speech alone, and Dwarves endure great weariness; but I am only an old hobbit, and I miss my meal at noon. Can't you think of some names now? Or put it off till after dinner?"

No one answered. The noon-bell rang. Minerva looked around, but everyone was silent, only Frodo did the same as she and when their eyes met, she knew what he was going to do.

"I will take the Ring." He said. "Though I do not know the way."

"If I understand aright all that I have heard," Elrond raised his eyes at him, "I think that this task is appointed for you, Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no one will. This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it? Or, if they are wise, why should they expect to know it, until the hour has struck? But it is a heavy burden. So heavy that none could lay it on another. I do not lay it on you. But if you take it freely, I will say that your choice is right; and though all the mighty elf-friends of old, Hador, and Húrin, and Túrin, and Beren himself were assembled together your seat should be among them. You will be the one in response of the woman's fate nearby you, and even a small mistake can lead to an end."

"But you won't send him off alone surely, Master?" A little hobbit jumped from a corner where no one saw him.

"No indeed!" Smiled Elrond to him. "You at least shall go with him. It is hardly possible to separate you from him, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."

"You will send them alone?!" Minerva jumped from her seat, Gandalf's hand dropping down. "They will be in deadly danger the moment they leave Rivendell!"

"They want to go."

The moment these words left her mouth, she knew that there was no going back, even if that meant death of her. She had to help the hobbits. "I am going with them." She stated.

* * *

"That was very foolish of you!" Gandalf said, pacing around the room, while Minerva sat on the bed, studying her arm once again bandaged arm.

"I could not let them go alone." She answered.

_That little boy is just like Harry. He has a great responsibility on his shoulders, weighting him down, and cannot do it by himself. He needs help, just like she does._

"I know, but you are _the one, _who can save us, but you still put your life in ri-."

"No one asked me if I want to be _the one_." She interrupted and the wizard fell silent. "If I will not help them, they will lose the ring to Sauron and will be killed. And that means that I will have to fight him."

The man sighted and went to the bed, falling on his knees before her. He took her hands into his, while the woman watched him in pure shock, trying to understand his sudden actions.

"I just want you to be safe." He whispered, looking into her emerald eyes.

"You had to understand that from the moment Elrond called my name, I will not be safe in this world." She said.

"Then I will help you."

"How? How can you help me to fulfil the prophecy?"

"Maybe I cannot help you to fulfil it, but I can help you in your journey to destroy the ring and deny the prophecy." The wizard squeezed her hands tightly. "I will go with you and Frodo."

Minerva smiled and hugged him in happiness, his arms entwining around her waist. "Thank you." She whispered into his ear.

Suddenly, the door wide opened and Elrond came in, a smiled appearing on his face as he saw them embracing. They let go of each other quickly and Gandalf stood up.

"I want to talk to both of you." The elf said. "Come."

The wizard help the woman and they both followed the lord of Imladris out of the room. Every elf that they passed looked at her with amazement, songs were silenced, as she walked passed those who sang. She felt trapped between her emotions, panic and fear mixing together, making her loose her mind. The witch did not want any attention, she just wanted peace. To find harmony between her defeated body and chaotic mind.

Minerva pushed all of her thoughts aside, focusing on where they were going, her black staff hitting the cold ground silently, leading her every step.

"Come inside." Elrond invited, holding the open door for them.

They went into the room and the elf closed the door. The witch sat down on an arm chair, while Gandalf leaned on a windowsill near her. The lord of Imladris stood before her, with his hands before his straight back.

"I want to ask you some questions." He said kindly, looking into her eyes as if searching for something.

"Of course." Minerva nodded.

For about an hour he asked her all kinds of various questions, trying to get every bit of information about her and the world she came from.

"Will you have the strength to help us in this war?" He finally asked, making her think about everything.

"I don't know. My body is very weak at this moment."

"That I know, but we will help you to recover and heal your wounds." He smiled. "And if you will fight when the need comes, you will need to learn how to."

"But what is my task?"

"If the dark lord gets his ring back… You will have to fight him and try to defeat him."

Silence fell in the room, only birds outside could be heard. "I do not think this task is for my abilities… I just fought another war, and you're asking me to fight again?" She asked calmly.

"You are meant to fight it. You are meant to save us."

"Of course I am not!" The woman jumped before Elrond. "I am not your servant that will save your world whenever you need! I don't want to fight anymore… I am tired of all of this. I want it to end!" She spat out, her voice cracking from all of the emotions that collected inside her. "I just can't…"

With those last words Minerva disappeared from the sight of those two men, gasps coming from their mouths could be heard. The door of the room opened and they could see her again, walking out of the room with the black staff in her hand. Gandalf, who was leaning on the seat and watching them talk uncomfortably, now was almost running behind her, but the hand of the elf stopped him in his track.

"Let her go. She will come back." He said to him.

The wizard listened to him and sighted bitterly. "I can't." He said after a long minute and flew through the door, leaving the elf alone.

He ran through the he long corridor and down the stairs, calling her name, everyone looking at him strangely, until she was out of his and everyone's sight.

_Meanwhile…_

The witch went out of the room, not leaning on her staff anymore, trying to get away from all that was happening. She got down the big stairs quickly, everyone was looking at her strangely and with some kind of _fear_, as if she was going to kill them with a glance. She ignored them and quickened her pace, going as far away as she could.

After a few minutes and a few turns she reached a beautiful garden that had a lonely, somehow white leafed tree. It was growing on the edge of the tall rock that was the edge of Rivendell, the other side very far away. There was a clear water river in between, flowing calmly, as if nothing will ever disturb it.

Minerva dropped at the same edge, her legs hanging up above the deep gap, and put her staff near her. And then, as if a rain from a bright sky, crystal tears started rolling down her cheeks, followed by silent sobs. The little drops fell into the water deep down, messing up the slow flow.

Those tears were not cold, like her whole body felt, they were hot, hot tears of anger and desperation, rolling down with all of the emotions shut deep inside her. The woman was finally free of them, keeping her from going further and greeting her fate with wide open hands. They were the brakes that stopped her from doing anything she wanted and everything she needed to.

She sat there for an hour, thinking about her life, her future and the bloody prophecy. The rain began pouring from the dark grey sky, as if matching her mood, drops rolling down her face and clothes, until she was soaking wet. The wind blew from behind, her raven black hair billowing before her, just like her warm cloak that now felt like a cube of ice on her shoulders.

After a few more minutes Minerva stood up and whispered a spell, the green marble appearing around her neck. She removed it and put in her hand, squeezing tightly, as if trying to make the moment last. The same beautiful song echoed around her silently, as she sang it in a whisper, just like the night in the Bree. With final words she closed her eyes and was ready to throw it away.

'_Why are you doing, my dear?_' Someone asked.

The witch looked around, but saw no one, so proceeded to throw it again.

'_Don't you remember me anymore?_' The same voice asked again.

"Albus?" She asked, looking around again, her heart pounding in her ears. "Where are you?"

'_Somewhere, where everyone will be, sooner or later._'

The woman turned her head to look at sky that was now almost black, full moon rising along with the starts that appeared one by one. But one of them was very bright, the brightest of them all that look like a blue diamond, so reminding her of _his_ eyes.

'_Hallucinations._' Minerva thought sadly, her body shivering in cold.

'_Why are you throwing it away?_' He questioned again.

"Maybe it is not a necklace of luck… It's a necklace of pain and sadness."

'_Of course it's not… Remember, Minerva, the words that I once said…_ _Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.'_

"Then what shall I do?" She asked in vain, as if believing in the voice she hears.

'_Trust your heart, my dear. Trust your heart and help those in need, because they can be lost without it._'

"But, Al-"

'_Trust your heart…_' He repeated, his voice further and further away from her. '_And help those in need._'

"Wait! Don't leave me! I need you…" She finished into the silence, the blue star disappearing from her sight. "I can't do this without you…" She whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

The woman took a deep breath of now very cold air and put the locket onto her neck again, turning it invisible. With one last glance she picked up her black staff walked away, back to the house of Elrond. She had a decision to make.

Few minutes later she was facing the white big stairs that were shining from rain drops. The woman started climbing, but her ears heard a strange sound, as if someone drew a bow and she stopped in the middle of the stairs.

"Run!" Someone shouted, but it was too late.

Three men jumped out of nowhere before her, one with a sword and other two with bows. They were all wearing the same masks that the man who attacked her in the Bree was wearing, nightmares flashing before her eyes. A two groups of men were a few meters from her, by her sides, their bows drew tightly.

"What do you want?" She asked, one hand wrapping around her wand, the other gripping her staff tighter.

No one answered, but the one with a sword was about to attack her, so she drew out her wand. "Confringo!" She called out and a beam of light shot from it.

They all three flew backward, hitting the ground hard from her powerful curse. Before she could do anything else, a bunch of arrows flew at the direction of her body and she started running down the stairs, because two men were blocking the entry.

"Protego!" She whispered and the arrows hit the shield around her, not available to touch her.

Some of the attackers fell dead on the ground, because the ones who told her to run showed, bringing bows and swords. They were elves, the guardians of Imladris. When Minerva finally reached the last step, a man jumped in her way, about to hit with a sword. She shielded with her staff, holding it in dead grip and praying that it would not break in a half. At last, the woman collected a bit of her last energy, and kicked the attacker off, his body flying a few feet from her. The elves still fought the imposters, but Minerva saw that it was a very hard task for them, few of them already laying on the ground, while the other side was even growing bigger.

The witch called all the spells she knew, her opponents falling down, until the moment, when her instincts failed her, hallucinations crossing her mind.

'Not now…' She thought with grieve, the poison in her blood absorbing all of the energy that she had left.

She dropped her wand in pain, it falling on the ground with a thud, when an arrow ripped her upper arm, sticking straight out of it, covered in dark blood. Minerva pulled it out of her right arm with a groan and gripped her staff in the left. Everything blurred down, she could feel the incoming pain of the poison, and braced herself for it, gritting her teeth.

The woman started backing up, as five still standing men went at her one of them with a sword, out of arrows. She let out a shivering sight, her body freezing, and stopped, suddenly attacking them with her staff. Her fingers spun it around like a windmill, knocking the two men out, with a hit in the head. The other man fell down from her kick in the guts, his sword dropping on the ground. Her reaction slowed down, her vision blurring down almost completely, and the woman missed the other man, taking a punch into her stomach, like always, right into her wound. Blood spilled from her mouth and she took a kick into her right side, falling down on the ground, few feet from attackers, and her staff falling down too far for her to reach.

After a short moment Minerva tried to stand up, her body trembling with pain and cold, her legs giving up. She did finally, before the men could attack her again, and in a third time she hit one of them and he flew a feet from her. The last man kicked her with force, but she withstood it, her feet only sliding a little bit. The image of the man looked double for her and she had to choose quickly witch to hit. Her choice was the one on the left, but it was wrong and the man used her weakness, sending her on the ground once again.

"Give up!" He hissed with a cold tone and held his hand up.

"Never." Minerva whispered and stood up once again as if knowing that it might be the last time she does that.

The woman tried to punch him one last time and he lowered his hand. She felt an arrow sinking into her chest, then another and another, until she fell down on one knee, on the cold white bricks, her hand wandering on her chest and entwining around one of them.

"No!" Someone shouted in the distance, but she could not hear it anymore.

"Never." She repeated, standing up slowly.

Her hands clenched into fists and she punched him in the face with her very last bit of energy, the man stumbling back. And before she could even react, she was on her knees, all of the power she had leaving her body, and then her body hit the ground hardly. This time, she saw her father on his knees next to her, smiling above her weakly.

'_I am proud of you._' He whispered and was gone, leaving the witch lying alone on the ground.

"Minerva!" She could her name being called in the distance, while her eyes only looked at the sky weakly, searching for that one blue star.

She did not feel her hand being lifted from the ground, or the bandage ripped from it painfully.

"_Eru_!" Was the word she did not hear, her heart pounding loudly in her ears, voices of the ones who left her in her head.

A sword was raised above her and was ready to hit, but it fell on the ground near her, something heavy dropping on her legs and waist. With a shivering sight she closed her eyes slowly.

"Minerva…" Someone called and she felt a warm hand caressing her cheek, her upper body being lifted and put on someone's knees.

She opened her still emerald eyes and saw her fellow grey wizard looking at her from above, with sorrowful face. "I am sorry… So sorry." He whispered.

"For what? I was the one who left you."

"But I could not save you. Now look at you… You're dying." He murmured.

"Why should I be?" She asked with a smile. "I'm alright."

Her white hand pulled out one of the arrows, not covered in blood or anything else. The woman unbuttoned the first three buttons of her tartan shirt and Gandalf saw something silver shining on her chest.

"Mithril." She whispered. "Elrond gave them to me."

The wizard laughed in joy making the woman smile a bit. "Then I shall thank him a million times…"

He pulled out the other two arrows and embraced her tightly, pressing a kiss to her freezing forehead. "You're cold as ice." He said.

"I know… But that is why I got you, have I not?" Minerva smiled.

"Of course." The wizard said and was about to scoop her in his arms.

"I can do it myself." She protested. "Let me."

Gandalf sighted and the woman smiled, sitting up with a groan. She stood up with the help of the wizard, holding on to him tightly. Her eyes only then saw almost everyone who was in the council with weapons in their hands, looking at her strangely, as if they saw a ghost. Some of them ran off to catch the attackers, who were now alright and tried to escape, thinking that their task was complete. Lord Elrond was the only one who smiled with happiness, a bow in his hands.

"I told you they would help." He said.

"Thank you." She whispered in return.

She extended her hand and her black staff, along with her wand flew into it, making a few people gasp, as if they have never seen magic before. The wizard held her firmly by his side, not letting her to fall down, tracking her every action. They started walking, Minerva almost limping, because the poison has started working once again.

"We will take care of the attackers." Elrond said to Gandalf. "Get the hobbits inside."

Frodo and Sam, the two, who will have to take the ring to Mordor, were also here, looking at her sadly, seeing how she looks. They had to be in beds by now, because Frodo has not healed completely yet, but Minerva knew that she disturbed everything, by a one foolish wave of anger, putting herself and everyone else in danger.

"You heard what he said. Let's go." The wizard said to them.

"The poison… I don't feel very good, Gandalf." She whispered as they walked up the stairs slowly, the wizard almost carrying her up.

"I know… Hang on. I will give you medicine."

"No… I can endure the pain."

"Not those medicine. I will give you something Lord Elrond gave me."

Minerva felt silent, all of her newly gained energy concentrated on taking the last few steps to the room that they reached after a few minutes. They all stopped at the white door, Gandalf letting go of her slowly.

"I'll be back in a minute, after I get them to bed. Wait for me here." He said.

She nodded and they were off, going upstairs. A moment passed and she did not wanted to wait any longer, so she opened the door and went inside slowly, lighting a few candles. The eyes of the woman saw a bunch of red roses in a white vase, waiting for her on the table near the bed. She went to it and smelled them, their smell so reminding her of the day Albus left her, making her heart shatter again. Her body sank on the floor, her back leaning on the white bed, and as if all of her emotions erupted again, tears started rolling down her cheeks, mixing with the blood she forgot to wipe. She hugged her knees and closed her eyes, her heart burning in pain and grief.

When the wizard went into the room and saw her like that, his face darkened, all kinds of thoughts crossing his old head. He was by her side in a quick movement, his hands wrapping around her lean form and held tightly, trying to calm her down. Her hand entwined around his waist, and she started sobbing into his chest.

"I'm sorry." She whispered after a few minutes, calming down a bit, her voice muffled. "I'm having horrible hallucinations again…"

"There is no need to, my lady." He said and she finally looked at his face. "I have the medicine that should take them away for a day or two."

The woman hugged him again, burying her face in his grey beard. Gandalf smiled, the feeling of her so close making him happy, as much as knowing that she was safe with him. He scooped her into his arms, she did not protest, too tired to do anything, and put her on the bed, sitting on the edge of it. With a cloth that he pulled out from his bag, he cleaned her bloody face, while she was looking at him intensely.

"Take this." He handed her a vile with clear liquid.

She did as told and drank it to the bottom. After a moment her body relaxed completely and she could not feel any of the pain she was enduring a minute ago. She handed the vile back to Gandalf, who smiled at her.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"I can't feel anything, but an arrow hit my upper arm." She sat up, unbuttoned her cloak and put it away, doing the same with her shirt, until she was left with mithril shirt. After a moment she took them off over her head, finally showing her right arm for the wizard. It was covered in dark blood, not a very big round cut on it.

"It does not look bad." Gandalf said, tracing it with his fingertips. "I will bandage it, but tomorrow you will have to show it to Elrond."

Minerva nodded and laid down on the bed once again, closing her tired eyes, while the man cleaned her wound and covered with bandages tightly. He did the same with her lower arm, where the markings were that everyone wanted to see.

"You can go to sleep if you want." He said, taking her clothes of from the bed.

"I'll wait for you." She said and rolled on her side, to lay more comfortable.

The wizard took of her boots and put them by the end of the bed, right next to his that he took off before her. He took of his robe and threw it on a chair nearby, lying down on the bed next to her. The man covered them both with a blanket, and his hands entwined around her waist, her body pressed tightly to his, so she could absorb his warmth. With a whisper from his lips, all candles blew out, they both descending into darkness. Minerva found Gandalf's hand and entwined her fingertips around his, as if wanting to be closer, a smile crossing the face of the man. He pressed the last kiss to her forehead and they both drifted into calm sleep after a few long moments in silence.

* * *

When Minerva woke up the other morning, she immediately went to take a hot bath, her body feeling weak, but warmer that yesterday. After that, she dressed up in her emerald boxers with the same tank top, because Gandalf told her that she will have to go to Elrond, who will help her to heal wounds. The wizard himself was gone when she woke up, but he left a note, saying that he will meet her in the room of the lord of Imladris.

When the witch was finally ready and had her staff in her hand, she left the room, her bare feet touching the cold ground lightly, along with the metal stick. Her hair were falling down her shoulders and back freely, no need for them to be in a bun that she always wore as a teacher.

After a few minutes she reached his room and entered it, two men with smiles on their faces greeting her.

"Are you ready?" The dark haired elf asked, standing up from his chair.

"For what?" She asked, coming further into the room.

"For your recovery."

Minerva was silent for a moment, thinking about the energy she has got left inside her. "I… am."

"Lay down here." He said and motioned to the wooden table like bed that now stood in his room next to a wall.

She went to it slowly and laid down, giving her staff to Gandalf, who was smiling encouragingly. Elrond looked at her from above and touched the bruise on her face, half around her eye.

"I missed a few punches." She smiled a little, making the elf do the same.

"I will try something on you that should help your body relax and heal faster. If it does not work, I have a few other ways." He said after a moment, taking off the bandage from her arm and then from her leg.

"Wait!" Minerva sat up straight again. "I forgot to tell you my decision."

The room fell silent for a moment. "And what did you decide?"

"I will… I will fight Sauron, if that is my destiny."

"Then we will prepare you for it, so you could actually do it." Gandalf interrupted, his face not one of the happiest. "But it will require a great deal of energy."

"I'm ready for anything."

"Lay down then." Elrond said.

The witch did as told and the elf picked up small needles that were shining in silver. "Close your eyes and relax." He said.

Her eyes closed and she felt one of the needles sinking into her arm, memories of the night in the "Prancing pony" coming back to her, but she blocked them, gritting her teeth. One after another they sank into various parts of her body, covering almost all of it. It was very hard for Minerva to calm down, when she felt as weak as that night, a poison then filled her body, clenching her fists tightly did not help her, cold sweat running down her forehead, her breathing slow and ragged.

"The last one." Elrond whispered.

The witch felt needle sinking into her neck, almost in the place where her attacker did that, and could not control herself anymore, images flashing before her.

"Get off!" She roared and jumped straight up, opening her eyes.

All of the needles flew out of her body, with a hard wave of her hand breaking in pieces and falling down on the ground. None of them hit the elf, who managed to get out of the way in seconds. She sat there, trying to calm down her breathing, the images disappearing from her mind.

"I'm sorry." The woman whispered. "I don't think this is going to work."

"Then we will try something else." Elrond said, looking at Gandalf, who jumped from his seat. "Don't worry." He said to him.

The wizard sat down again and gritted his staff tighter. "Fine."

The elf pushed her down on the wooden surface again and picked up a bowl with oil mixed with green leaves. He applied it gently on her body, starting with her legs and ending with the bruise on her face. Minerva felt, how her muscles relaxed and became stronger at the same time, no pain could be felt.

"How do you feel?" The lord of Imladris asked.

"Better." She smiled a little.

"Then we shall continue this for the next few weeks, until you feel excellent." He laughed. "You're free to go, but before that, I will bandage you once again."

The woman nodded and sat up, looking at the old wizard with a smile. He did the same, his mood lighting up from seeing her so energized and happy.

Elrond bandaged her arm on which he applied a healing cream, then her leg, to which he did the same, and let Gandalf take her back to her room.

* * *

The next week and a half flew very quickly, with every day that passed her body feeling better, the wounds healing fast, even the one on her waist. Minerva finally felt happy and recovered, training with Elrond, who was teaching her how to shoot from a bow, and with Gandalf who showed her everything around Rivendell and more.

The woman has befriended the four brave hobbits that reminded her so of her students, like this world was a reflection of hers. Frodo looked like Harry, with a great responsibility on his small shoulders, while his friend Sam looked like Ron, the one who will always help in need and will never leave him. The other two hobbits were Merry and Pippin, the copies of the Weasley twins, the pranksters that cause trouble for everyone. Minerva felt better knowing them.

_But one day, she was in danger again, as someone attacked Rivendell, searching for the ring._

Minerva was sleeping on Gandalf, turned into her animagus form, because she wanted to help him to heal his wounds (after all, cats are healers in their natural form), when suddenly, a loud bell of alarm ringed, causing the two of them jump from their sleep.

"Get Frodo and Sam!" The wizard said to her quickly, as he jumped from the bed and picked up his staff along with his sword. "I'll meet you and everyone else in the place, where the council was."

The woman turned back to her human form and nodded, transfiguring her nightwear into the same clothes as always, with black boots. She picked up her wand, along with metal stick, and sprinted out of the room. She ran up the stairs, elves and men gathering in the wide halls. When she opened the doors of their room, her eyes saw three men, one of them grabbing Frodo and throwing him over his shoulder, the little hobbit screaming for help, while Sam tried to fight the attackers.

"Missed me?" She asked, as a bolt of purple light hit them, their bodies hitting the wall.

"Minerva!" Sam exclaimed in joy, but then turned around and ran to help Frodo to get up from the ground.

"Come on!" The woman hurried them, but the fallen hobbit groaned in pain.

"He can't stand up!" Sam gasped, tears springing in his eyes.

"There is no time!" She said and ran to him, picking up from the ground and hoisting up on her shoulder. "Let's go, Sam."

The hobbit nodded and followed her, as she walked out of the room, heading for the stairs. When they were half of them down, a few men appeared before their eyes with bows, Gandalf and other elves fighting behind them.

"Run!" He shouted.

Minerva touched Sam and he was gone out of her sight, only to appear next to the wizard, where he could be safe. The woman turned around and ran up the stairs, the men running after, trying to shoot her down. She did not hesitate and sprinted forward, the arrows flying a few centimeters next to her, and she jumped out of a great arc without windows, where the council of Elrond was taking place, ten meters below.

Frodo screamed in fear, as they fell in a great speed, but the woman whispered something and they slowed down a bit, her back hitting the ground lighter than it should have. The witch stood up slowly, putting the hobbit on the ground behind her, and tried to hit the men that were now shooting at her from a higher point, not available to jump down.

There was no one from those, who she had to meet here, leaving her alone to defend the ringbeared and herself, from the unstoppable attacks. A bunch of men fled towards her from around the corner, with their sharp swords and arrows. She fought them with magic, shouting all the spells she knew, one after another, until they were out of arrows and attacked her with swords.

The black staff in her hands helped her a lot, hitting the men with power, so that their swords flew from their hands. But she missed one hit that was so powerful that she fell on the ground, sliding few feet from Frodo. She jumped on her feet again, no wand in her hands, because one man took it from the ground, as it fell from her hand.

Minerva ran to the little hobbit once again, shielding him with her chest from the hits that were meant for him, not for her. Her eyes finally saw Gandalf running along with Elrond, Boromir, Aragorn, three hobbits, two dwarves and a bunch of elves, swords, axes, and bows in their hands.

A rain of arrows hit the men, who were attacking her, but it was not enough, because men from a far were shooting at them too. The woman punched one of her attackers off, the other with her metallic staff, but one of them hit her in the face, her body lurching backwards a bit, and before she could even react, a kick to her side laid her on the cold ground.

"No!" She shouted, standing up slowly, as one of the attackers put a dagger to Frodo's throat, wanting to cut it.

"Stop, or we will kill him!" One of them hissed loudly, so everyone could hear. "Put your weapons on the ground!"

Minerva was the first one who dropped her staff, the sound of it touching the ground was the only thing breaking the silence that surrounded them. Everyone else followed her lead, groaning and roaring in frustration. A man came behind her and put her arms painfully behind her back.

Another man came face to face with her and looked into her eyes. "Not so tough now, are we?" He mocked her, his hand on her neck, trying to strangle her.

When she was almost completely out of breath, he let go of her and laughed ironically. "I am offering you a deal." He said, the words reaching everyone's ears.

The witch was silent, glancing at Frodo sadly, who was crying like Sam, who was watching everything from afar, a flame of anger in her emerald eyes.

He said something in a language she did not understand, but then felt her arms being let go, the man behind her getting back from her. "Give us your locket and a right to kill you, and we might leave the boy alive, only taking one thing that does not belong to him."

Minerva thought for a moment in silence, not noticing the look that Gandalf was giving her. Her eyes found Frodo's ones and she nodded to him, showing what she was about to do. An emerald stone appeared around her neck and she took it off, holding in her palm.

"You want it? Then go get it!" With that, she threw it, where a waterfall was, only a feet behind her.

"No!" He roared in anger and flew towards the edge.

But before she could react, his hands were around her and they were falling together into the cold water, gasps and screams echoing around her. She closed her eyes and with one last tear, she fell into the water.

Everyone stood there in shock, not available to recover, the only sound disturbing the silence, was the sobbing of the little hobbit, who was crying uncontrollably. In anger, the man with the dagger, who was holding Frodo, took the ring off from him, and with one last glance, cut his throat. The limp body of the young boy fell on the ground with one last breath, and everyone roared in anger and pain, picking up their weapons and attacking everyone surrounding them, without any mercy.

The man with the ring was protected by the bodies of others, who were fighting for him, no one could reached him. He went to the edge, where the pair fell, and looked down, searching for their bodies. But with a gasp he flew backwards, as if he saw a ghost before him.

Everyone froze, as they saw the following scene strange scene. Minerva rose up high into the air, water entwining around her like a vine, lifting her up, ice under her legs. Angriness and pain written all over her face, her eyes black as coal, and a look at them could freeze heart. Water was dripping from her face and hair, her clothes soaking wet, clinging to her skin.

"Don't you understand?" She roared, looking at the man with the ring, making everyone shiver. "You cannot kill me!"

She stretched her hand and a line of clear ice appeared before her, making a path for her, to get to the ground. "Run." She whispered.

The man turned around and started running as fast as he could, with all of his bodyguards by his side. Minerva jumped onto the ice she created, and slid down it, quicker that the wind, everyone holding their breath, afraid that if they breathe, she shall kill them with a glance.

She walked slowly, letting the man run to the exit, but when he reached it, she raised her hand, and a wall of ice was built there, blocking his way. She laughed mockingly, but then an arrow shot right at her and the woman fell silent, catching it a centimeter to her chest.

"You… Should not have done it." She hissed, looking at the man on her right, who tried to shoot her.

The witch started running, breaking the arrow in half and throwing the pieces at two of the men who were beside him, in the group, who were fighting elves. With a bang they fell down, and a blade of ice appeared in her hand. She hit one man after another, beating down every single one of them, their blood splattering on her clothes and face, making her look even angrier. A rain of arrows tried to hit her from above, men shooting from the roof. Minerva ran and summoned a bow with arrows into her hand, avoiding the ones that flew at her direction. She shot two men down, their bodies falling down on the ground, people around her gasping in fear, afraid of the monster, which she turned into. Nobody fought anymore, looking at her, tracking her actions, only Sam kneeling next to Frodo, who has already left this world, because she did a very big mistake. Gandalf was the one who called her name, as she passed by him, but she did not react, forgetting about everything that surrounded her.

The witch threw the bow away and ran to a wall, jumping on it, gripping the bricks that were sticking out. She finally reached the top of the building, holding on to the edge of it, until she pushed herself up, standing before the few men. The woman killed all of them in seconds, and looked down again with a smile, seeing the man with his bodyguards trying to hit the ice. She dived down, falling about twenty meters, and hitting the ground lightly, her feet not feeling any pain at all.

"You killed him!" She hissed, looking at the scared man.

"No! I did not!" He squeaked weakly, backing away from her. "They did!" He pointed at his bodyguards.

"Don't lie to me!" Her hand punched the air and every man beside him fell down dead.

The man tried to run, but when he reached the white wall of the building, he fell down, something entwining around his legs. Minerva went to him slowly, while he stood up, shaking with fear. She gripped him by his collar and pressed to the wall, her black eyes locking with his scared ones.

"Who sent you?" She asked.

"I won't tell you!" He squeaked.

"Tell me!"

"And what will you do?" He smiled, even knowing that this can be his last smile.

"I don't know…" She whispered. "Maybe this!"

Her fist hit the wall beside him, punching a hole in it, her hand bleeding a little.

"Sauron! Lord Sauron send me here!" He said, closing his eyes. 'Will you let me go?" He asked after a moment.

"You should not have killed him." She said and a dagger appeared in her hand.

The witch was about to hit him, when she heard a familiar voice calling her.

"Don't, Minerva… He does not deserve it." Gandalf whispered standing behind her, his hand on her wet shoulder.

The woman let go of the man and he sunk on to the ground, whimpering in fear. She turned around and looked at the grey bearded man angrily. Her hand rose, a dagger in it, and everyone thought that she was going to kill him, gasps coming out of their mouths. The wizard closed his eyes and sighted, ready for everything, but only felt the knife being put in his palm and his fingers being bent lightly. He opened his eyes and looked at her black ones, but only for a short moment they locked, because the woman turned away from him and started walking slowly.

Minerva summoned the ring from the palms of the man, squeezing it in her hand, it having no power on her. She went to Sam, crying over Frodo and fell on her knees. Her hand touched his cold forehead, and her dark eyes closed. After a moment she opened them again, put the ring around his neck and stood up, walking to the same edge where she fell, the green necklace flying into her open hand. It found its place on her neck and after a long moment, her eyes turned emerald green again, a shivering sight escaping her lips.

Suddenly, Frodo jumped straight up, surprising everyone, who stood there, his eyes wide in shock. Sam hugged him joyfully, jumping from happiness that gathered in his heart, the other two hobbit running to them too. Minerva did not hear any of the congratulations or festive shouts that filled Rivendell, her mind empty, thinking of what she has done.

Her eyes looked at the rising sun, a tear of pain rolling down her bloody cheek. Two hands entwined around her waist, her body leaning on someone's chest. She turned around, only to see Gandalf, who smiled at her sadly. She could not control herself anymore, and started crying into his chest, not available to forgive herself for almost killing him. His head rested on hers, his hand softly caressing her back.

"Everything will be alright." He whispered.

Minerva stayed silent, knowing that he was lying to her once again, tears rolling down her face.

After a few minutes she calmed down, and felt someone tugging her sleeve. She let go of the wizard and looked down, only to see Frodo, who smiled at her joyfully, a twinkle in his eyes. The woman fell on her knees and hugged him, the last tear that day rolling down her cheek, but not one of sadness, the one of happiness.

"Thank you." He whispered into her ear.

Minerva laughed and lifted him from the ground, his arms around her neck. "Thank you, Frodo." She said, looking into his clear eyes.

_To be continued..._

_Author's note: I hope you will enjoy this chapter! Thank you very much for your reviews!_


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